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MAR  10  195b 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL  "^" 


ANNIVERSARY. 


WRITTEN     FOR    THS    AMERICAN    SUNDAY-SCHOOL     UNION^ 
AN1>  REVISED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE  OF   PUBLICATION. 


^CA^meus     Wctddeis    /r\iexar.acr 


AMERICAN    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    UNION: 

H22  CKESTNUT   STRKET,  PHILADELPHIA. 
375  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


THE 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL 


ANNIVERSARY. 


In  the  middle  of  October,  I  re* 
ceived  a  visit  from  a  minister  m 
the  country.  He  came  to  invite 
me  to  attend  the  anniversary  of 
the  Sunday-schools  belonging  to 
his  congregation.  As  I  do  not 
wish  to  let  you  know  exactly 
where  it  was,  I  will  call  the  place 
of  his  abode  Coventry^     I    am 

a2  5 


6  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

always  glad  of  an  opportunity  to 
do  any  thing  to  help  on  Sunday- 
schools,  and  therefore  I  agreed 
to  go  to  the  anniversary,  although 
I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  spend 
that  day  in  New  York. 

I  have  many  reasons  for  loving 
Sunday-schools.  About  twenty 
years  ago,  when  I  v^as  a  little 
boy,  we  began  to  hear  about  the 
Sunday-schools  in  England,  but 
there  were  none  in  our  part  of 
America.  At  last  it  was  deter- 
mined to  set  one  up  in  the  village 
where  I  Uved.  Accordingly,  no- 
tice was  given,  and  preparations 
were  made.     A  room  was  en- 


ANNIVERSARY. 


gaged ;  and  what  sort  of  a  room 
do  you  think  it  was  ?  You  could 
scarcely  guess.  It  was  the  loft 
above  a  carriage-house.  This, 
however,  made  very  little  differ- 
ence. Into  the  carriage-house 
loft  we  went,  boys  and  girls  to- 
gether, full  of  expectation ;  for 
children  are  attracted  by  every 
thing  new  or  strange.  And  we 
had  heard  of  the  red  and  blue 
tickets,  with  verses  on  them, 
which  used  to  be  given  as  re- 
wards in  those  days ;  and  also  of 
beautiful  little  books  which  were 
to  be  presented  to  such  as  knew 
»heir  lessons. 


8  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

1  well  remember  that  first  Sun- 
day-school. I  can  almost  see,  at 
this  moment,  the  crowded  room, 
the  long  dipped-candles,  flarmg 
in  the  draft  of  wind  which  came 
through  the  chinks.  I  can  almost 
hear  the  hum  of  boys  and  girls, 
like  the  noise  of  a  swarming  hive. 
It  was  an  eveninoj  of  excitement. 
We  were  all  little  enthusiasts. 
Our  blue  tickets  were  worth  as 
much  to  us  as  so  many  silver 
dollars  would  be  now-a-days ;  and 
as  to  the  red  ones!  I  am  sure  we 
looked  forward  to  the  prize  as 
earnestly  as  we  should  at  this 
time  for  a  fifty  dollar  note. 


ANNIVERSARY.  if 

Better  things  than  these  also 
came  up  m  my  memory.  I  re- 
collect tender  thoughts  of  my 
creator  and  Redeemer ;  resolu 
tions  to  read,  and  pray,  and  seek 
God's  fovour.  And  though  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  that  we  were  more 
bent  on  getting  many  verses  by 
rote,  than  on  understanding  what 
we  got ;  and  more  anxious  to 
have  a  box  full  of  tickets,  than  to 
learn  the  lesson  out  of  the  Bible 
yet  some  good  thoughts  were 
dropped,  like  seeds,  in  our  minds, 
which  have  never  been  destroyed 
This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why 
I  love  Sunday-schools,  and  why 


10  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

I  am  always  glad  to  lend  my  aid 
in  carrying  them  forward. 

Before  I  tell  about  the  Coventry 
anniversary,  let  me  give  another 
reason  of  my  attachment  to  Sun- 
day-schools. There  are  a  great 
many  passages  of  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures w^hich  I  have  by  memory, 
so  that  I  can  repeat  them  to  my- 
self as  I  walk  or  ride,  or  as  I 
lie  awake,  during  nights  of  pain 
or  sickness.  This  is  a  great  trea- 
sure. I  beg  my  young  readers  to 
take  notice  that  every  one  of 
these  texts  is  worth  more  to  me 
than  a  piece  of  gold.  Now,  1 
can  well  remember  that  most  of 


ANNIVERSARY.  11 

these  verses  were  committed  to 
my  memory,  when  I  was  a  child 
at  the  Sunday-school  in  the  vil- 
lage. And  if  1  had  not  got  them 
then,  I  could  not,  at  a  later  period, 
have  learned  half  so  many ;  be- 
cause it  is  observed,  that  the  me- 
mory of  youthful  minds  is  like 
soft  clay,  in  which  you  can  leave 
any  marks  and  impressions  you 
choose ;  but  the  older  one  is, 
the  harder  it  is  to  learn  by  me- 
mory, just  as  clay  becomes  solid 
and  unyielding  by  age. 

When  I  grew  up  to  be  a  young 
man,  and  began  to  take  more  in- 
terest in  religious  things,  it  came 


12  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

into  my  mind,  that  I  ought  to  dc 
something  for  the  benefit  of  my 
fellow  creatures ;  and  after  I  had 
thought  about  it  for  some  time,  I 
concluded  that  there  was  no  way 
in  which  a  youth,  such  as  I  was, 
could  be  the  instrument  of  doins^ 
so  much  good,  as  by  teaching  in 
a  Sunday-school. 

There  was  a  neio'hbourhood 
of  a  few  houses,  about  two  miles 
from  our  village,  where  the  people 
were  very  careless  and  ignorant. 
A  pious  young  man  from  Geneva, 
was  beginning  a  Sunday-school 
at  this  place,  and  I  was  askeu  to 
assist  him.     It  was  delightful  to 


ANNIVERSARY.  13 

me  to  hear  the  request,  for  I  had 
long  wished  for  just  such  an  of- 
fer. Here  we  had  a  pleasant 
little  school  for  about  two  years. 
Every  Lord's-day  morning  we 
used  to  walk  or  ride  to  the  ham- 
let, and  return  in  time  for  church 
at  home ;  and  the  remembrance 
of  the  happiness  which  I  enjoyed 
in  being  a  teacher,  makes  me 
love  Sunday-schools.  But  I  must 
return  to  my  narrative. 

As  I  said  before,  I  agreed  to 
go  to  Coventry,  and  assist  Mr 
Hunt  at  the  October  anniversary 
When  the  day  arrived  my  healtn 

vvas  not  good.     T  had  been  at- 
B 


14  THE  SUNDAY -SCHOOL 

tacked  two  days  before  with  a 
painful  disease,  and  my  strength 
was  by  no  means  recovered.  Yet 
V  the  morning  was  so  lovely  that  1 
resolved  to  persevere,  in  reliance 
on  our  Heavenly  Father,  who 
gives  grace  as  it  is  needed. 

Mr.  Jackson,  a  neio^hbour  of 
mine,  is  a  native  of  Coventr}^,  and 
was  kind  enouoh  to  take  me  in 
his  carriage.  The  clearness  and 
freshness  of  an  October  morninof 
is  good  for  the  heakh,  and  I  feU 
stronger  every  mile  we  drove. 
The  woods  had  that  dappled  ap- 
pearance which  the  frosts  of  au- 
tumn 'produce    on    the    foliage. 


ANNIVER.SARY.  15 

Every  shade  and  tint  seemed 
to  be  sprinkled  over  the  forest. 
The  biood-red  of  some  trees,  the 
orange  of  others,  the  varied  yel- 
low of  still  more,  and  the  general 
softness  of  the  v^hole,  was  indeed 
very  beautiful.  Some  persons 
are  saddened  by  the  fall  of  the 
leaf  It  has  never  had  this  effect 
on  my  feelings,  for  I  remember 
that  the  change  is  useful  to  the 
%regetable  world ;  and  that  after 
the  repose  of  winter,  these  same 
branches  will  be  still  more  fresh- 
ly and  beautifully  clad.  It  also 
reminds  one  of  the  death  and  re- 

B   2 


16  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

surrection  of  the  believer,  which 
is  a  pleasing,  joyful  subject. 

As  we  passed  on,  through  a 
fertile  region,  it  was  gratifying  to 
behold  the  fruits  of  the  earth  re- 
warding the  farmer's  labour.  We 
saw,  on  every  hand,  orchards 
laden  with  golden  or  blushing 
fruit ;  barn-yards  crowded  with 
stacks  of  grain,  neatly  thatched 
over  to  protect  them  from  the 
storms ;  and  meadows  over  which 
sheep  and  cattle  were  grazing 
with  delight.  Any  man  who  has 
a  heart  for  Christian  cheerfulness 
must  rejoice  at  such  sights,  an  d  will 
think  of  the  boundless  goodness^ 


ANNIVERSARY.  17 

of  our  heavenly  Father.  My  mhid 
turned  naturally  to  such  passages 
as  these :  "  He  causeth  the  grass 
to  grow  for  the  cattle,  and  herb 
for  the  service  of  man :  that  he 
may  bring  forth  food  out  of  the 
earth."  "  O  Lord,  how  manifold 
are  thy  works ;  in  wisdom  hast 
thou  made  them  all !"  "  O  that 
men  would  praise  the  Lord  for 
his  goodness,  and  for  his  won- 
derful works  to  the  children  of 
men !" 

Mr.  Duval,  a  good  friend  of 
youth,  accompanied  us  in  this 
little  expedition  ;  but  for  the  sake 
of  his  health,  and  in  order  to  en- 

b2 


18  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

joy  the  prospect,  he  rode  on 
norseback.  Occasionally,  as  he 
galloped  along  by  us,  he  would 
stop  and  pomt  out  remarkable 
scenes  on  the  way,  and  join  in 
conversation.  Thus  we  proceed- 
ed with  much  cheerfulness  and 
comfort.  The  farmers  on  our 
road  were  busily  employed  in 
gathering  the  Indian  corn  into 
little  stacks  which  covered  the 
whole  face  of  the  country  at  cer- 
tain spots.  This  useful  produc- 
tion gives  food  to  many  thousands 
of  men  and  beasts,  and  is  one  of 
the  richest  gifts  of  Providence  to 
America.      The    young   reader 


r\ 


ANNIVERSARY.  21 

may  be  pleased  to  know  that  it 
is  in  Europe  called  maize.  In 
the  United  States  it  commonly 
goes  by  the  name  of  corn.  In 
Great  Britain,  the  word  corn 
means  all  kinds  of  grain  which 
grow  in  ears,  and  not  in  pods. 
When  we  read  in  English  books 
of  corn,  we  must  not  think  of 
maize  or  Indian  corn,  but  of 
wheat,  rye,  barley,  and  the  like. 
Thus,  m  the  gospel  of  John,  our 
Saviour  says,  "  Except  a  corn  of 
wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and 
die,  it  abideth  alone."  And  in 
Deuteronomy,  of  the  ox  that 
"  tr»*adeth  out  the  corn ;"  and  m 


22  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

the  Psalms,  of  the  valleys  "cover- 
ed over  with  corn ;"  and  in  Amos, 
of  "  corn  sifted  in  a  sieve,"  and 
in  Joel,  of  "  the  withered  corn." 
There  are  some  regions  of  the 
earth,  however,  where  maize  and 
rice  are  more  used  than  wheat. 
Tn  China  and  Japan  rice  is  more 
common  than  any  other  grain. 
Tn  the  warmer  parts  of  our  own 
continent  Indian  corn  abounds 
more  than  either.  Asia  is  the 
native  country  of  rice,  and  Ame- 
rica of  maize.  Indian  corn, 
though  so  tall  and  stout,  never- 
theless, belongs  to  the  tribe  of 
grasses. 


ANNIVERSARY.  25 

But  I  must  not  forget  my  an- 
niversary. As  we  proceeded  in 
our  ride,  we  came  to  a  vale 
through  which  a  gently  flowing 
brook  passes,  in  which  I  had  often 
bathed  when  I  v/as  a  boy,  and 
over  whose  frozen  surface  I  had 
often  skated.  A  large  grist-mill 
and  a  saw-mill  are  situated  just 
where  our  road  crosses  the  bridge. 
On  the  rise  of  the  hill  beyond, 
many  feet  above  the  water,  stands 
the  village  church  of  Bellevue,  in 
which  for  two  successive  years  1 
have  attended  the  yearly  ex- 
amination of  several  flourishing 

Sunday-schools.      But   between 
c 


2fi  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

the  mill  and  the  church,  I  was 
surprised  to  behold  the  wonder- 
ful change  produced  by  a  large 
canal,  lately  completedo  Here. 
where,  in  former  days,  we  could 
see  no  craft  bic^o^er  than  a  canoe, 
or  a  ferry-boat,  we  now  see 
passing  every  day  large  sloops 
and  schooners.  As  I  looked 
at  the  effects  wrought  by  per- 
severance, enterprise,  resolution, 
industry,  and  skill,  I  asked  my- 
self, Why  should  not  Christians 
accomplish  like  wonders  in  be- 
nalf  of  Sunday-schools,  by  like 
zeal  and  diligence  ?  And  I  took 
occasion  to  express  this  thought 


ANNIVERSARY.  2*? 

to  rny  good  friends  in  the  Co- 
entry  church. 
The  country  became  more  and 
more  pleasing  to  the  eye  as  we 
advanced.  On  either  side  of  the 
highway,  there  were  wide-spread- 
ing farms,  with  comfortable  dwell- 
ings.  Sometimes  we  descended 
into  hollows,  through  which  small 
streams  pursued  their  silent  way ; 
sometimes  we  were  shaded  by  tall 
groves,  in  which  the  squirrel 
might  be  seen  leaping  down  from 
lofty  branches,  or  the  wood-lark 
hopping  in  the  thick  underwood. 
Then  we  came  out  again  into  the 
high  open  country,  and  could  see 


28  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

at  the  north-west,  on  our  left 
nand,  the  distant  blue  hills  of 
Sidmouth.  My  heart  rejoiced  at 
the  beauty  of  the  scene,  rejoiced 
m  the  goodness  of  the  Lord.  I 
was  ready  to  say  aloud — 

"  Not  content 
With  every  food  of  life  lo  nourish  man, 
By  kind  illusions  of  the  wondering  sense, 
rhou  mak'st  all  nature  beauty  to  his  eye 
And  music  to  his  ear." 

I  felt  disposed  to  say  with  the 
psalmist :  "  Sing  unto  the  Lord 
\^ith  thanksgiving;  sing  praise 
upon  the  harp  unto  our  God 
Who  covereth  the  heaven  with 
clouds,  who  prepareth  rain    for 


ANNIVERSARY  29 

the  earth,  who  maketh  grass  to 
grow  upon  the  mountains,  lie 
giveth  to  the  beast  his  food,  and 
to  the  young  ravens  which  cry 
He  maketh  peace  in  thy  borders, 
and  filleth  thee  with  the  finest  of 
the  wheat:"  but,  what  is  better 
than  all,  "  he  sheweth  his  word' 
unto  Jacob,  his  statutes  and  his 
judgments  unto  Israel.  He  hath 
not  dealt  so  with  any  nation !" 

Of  all  the  people  on  the  face 
of  the  earth,  we,  Americans,  ought 
to  be  thankful.  Blessed,  blessed 
shall  we  and  our  children  be,  if 
we  are  rightly  affected  by  the 
goodness  of  God  unto  us. 


30  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  daj 
we  began  to  come  into  a  more 
thickly  settled  district ;  the  farms 
were  smaller  and  nearer  together 
and  the  houses  more  numerous. 
We  approached  a  settlement  re- 
sembling a  village,  and  the  steeple 
of  Coventry  church  was  seen 
rising  above  the  yellow  poplars. 
We  alighted  at  the  door  of  the 
pastor's  dwelling-house,  and  he 
led  us  in.  We  could  observe 
from  the  windows,  that  the  people 
were  already  beginning  to  come 
m  from  the  neighbouring  country- 
places.  And  w^hen,  after  a  gooc 
ulain  dinner,  and  an  hour  of  resi 


ANNIVERSARY.  33 

we  went  to  the  church,  we  were 
surprised  to  see  the  number's 
which  poured  in  from  the  hills 
and  valleys  of  Sidmouth,  and  the 
plain  of  Coventry.  The  people 
were  arriving  every  moment; 
some  in  country  wagons,  some 
in  chaises,  but  most  on  horseback 
or  on  foot.  Clusters  werp  ga- 
thering about  the  church-yard, 
and  K\\  seemed  full  of  the  anni- 
versary. The  pastor  and  his  as- 
sistants were  seen  distributing  the 
hymns  that  were  to  be  sung; 
these  having  been  printed  for  the 
occasion.  But  scarcely  any  thing 
gave  me  so  much  satisfaction  as 


34  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

to  see  a  number  of  farm-wagons 
vviih  light  covers,  closely  seated 
and  filled  to  overflowing  with  lit 
tie.  ruddy,  smiling  boys  and  girls 
from  the  various  schools.  As  thi& 
was  the  first  annual  examination 
in    Coventry,  there  was  a  very 
great  interest  felt  by  all  the  young 
people,  especially  as  they  were 
anxious  to  make  proper  answers 
when    called     upon     to    ftcite^ 
Alighting  from  the  wagons,  the 
children    walked    in    a    sort    of 
procession  after  their  respective 
teachers,  and  then  the  other  per 
sons  having  entered  the  chuich, 


ANNIVERSARY.  35 

we  had  quite  a  respectable  con- 
gregation. 

There  is  something  in  a  rural 
assemblage  of  persons  which  al- 
ways gives  me  pleasure.     In  th§ 
rich  farming  districts,  like  this  of 
which  I  now  speak,  remote  from 
great^  towns,  there  is  often  a  re- 
markable appearance  of  equality. 
You  do  not  see  so  many  either 
of  the  flaunting  rich  or  of  the  ab- 
ject poor,  as  in  cities;   but  the 
people  are  much   alike  in  their 
manners,  dress,  and  appearance. 
A.S  I  took  my  place  near  the  pul 
pit,  and  cast  my  eyes  around  on 
the  congregation,  I  was  gratified 


36  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

to  see  the  health,  the  intelligence, 
ihe  sobriety,  and  the  cheerfulness, 
which  shone  in  most  of  the  faces 
before  me. 

The  long  rows  of  red-faced 
boys  and  girls  were  more  lovely 
objects  to  my  eye  than  so  many 
bags  of  gold.  I  look  upon  them 
as  the  jewels  of  America.  All 
looked  full  of  health,  robust,  and 
vio^orous.  All  seemed  cheerful 
and  respectful.  All  were  full  of 
the  occasion.  If  one  of  our  city 
lads  had  been  present,  I  think  it 
likely  he  might  have  laughed  at 
these  little  country  folks.  He 
would  be  apt  to  see  among  then) 


ANNIVERSARY.  37 

many  a  coat  or  bonnet  not  in  the 
fashion;  he  would  see  many  a 
face  burned  with  the  harvest  sun, 
and  find  almost  every  hand  hard- 
ened with  labour.  He  mi<^ht  ima- 
gine  them  to  be  poor  or  ignorant. 
But  the  city  lad  would  mistake, 
and  if  he  laughed  at  the  farmers' 
sons,  might  be  laughed  at  in  his 
turn.  These  simple-hearted  boys 
are  in  many  instances  the  sons 
of  wealthy  farmers ;  but  they 
have  been  bred  to  labour  with 
their  hands.  Some  of  them  may 
not  know  the  rare  sights  of  a  city, 
or  the  tricks  of  a  dancing  school ; 

but   they  can   manage    a   fiery 
D 


38  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

horse,  at  which  the  scornful  vi- 
siter would  tremble  ;  or  cut  down 
a  hickorv  in  the  woods,  or  swim 
with  rugged  strength  over  the 
torrent  of  a  river,  or  drag  the  rac- 
coon, from  his  high  resting  place 
in  the  old  oak. 

My  childhood  was  passed  in  a 
great  city,  but  I  respect  the  vir- 
tues  of  the  country,  and  look  upon 
the  youth  of  our  rural  districts  as 
the  very  hope  of  America.  These 
boys  and  girls  have  many  hours 
for  reading  in  the  long  winter 
evenings.  And  I  was  delighted 
to  listen  to  the  quickness  and  ac- 
curacy with  w^hich  they  answered 


ANNIVERSARY.  39 

the  questions  that  were  proposed 
to  them.  They  had  been  well 
taught.  Their  teachers  seemed 
to  show  a  degree  of  pride  in 
the  good  appearance  which  they 
made ;  and  the  children  were  in  a 
state  of  very  high  excitement. 
Scarcely  a  single  reply  out  of 
some  hundreds  was  wron^.  I 
reijoiced  for  my  country  when  I 
looked  at  the  schools  here  as- 
sembled, and  saw  the  little  folks 
so  clean,  so  neat,  so  well  instruct- 
ed, and  so  happy.  I  rejoiced 
in  the  Sunday-school  enterprise, 
which  brings  such  youth  together, 
fills  them  with  divine  truth,  puts 


40  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

books  into  their  hands,  and  fits 
them  for  life.  And  1  rejoice  this 
moment  in  knowing  that  many 
thousands  of  such  beloved  chil- 
dren are  training  up  in  our  Sun 
day-schools  over  all  the  face  of 
the  land. 

After  singing,  prayer,  and  ex- 
amination, it  became  my  duty  to 
make  an  address  to  the  people ; 
in  order  to  awaken  a  more  lively 
interest  in  the  good  work  of 
Christian  education. 

When  I  had  ended,  Mr.  Duval, 
our  companion,  made  a  short 
discourse  to  the  children.  They 
listened  with  the  greatest  atten- 


ANNIVERSARY.  41 

lion,  and  even  earnestness.  He 
related  several  anecdotes  of  hea 
then  children,  to  show  how  much 
cause  the  Sunday-scholars  of 
America  have  to  be  thankful  to 
God.  And  it  seemed  to  me  that 
the  tears  were  swelling  in  the 
eyes  of  several  little  hearers. 

After  another  hymn,  and  ano- 
ther prayer,  the  anniversary  meet- 
ing was  concluded,  and  I  believe 
all  present  were  much  gratified. 
A  new  interest  appeared  to  be 
excited  in  behalf  of  the  Sunday- 
school.  I  thought  I  could  see  the 
eyes  of  parents  sparkling  with 
new  hope  for  their  offspring ;  and 

D   3 


42  THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

observe  in  teachers  a  fresh  zeal 
for  their  good  work.  And,  there- 
fore, I  flatter  myself  that  our  visit 
was  not  altogether  unprofitable. 
I  am  sure  it  was  most  pleasant. 
O  with  what  spirit  the  wagon 
loads  of  children  drove  away 
homeward !  The  examination, 
for  which  they  had  both  longed 
and  trembled,  was  past !  As  the 
stouter  boys  on  the  front  seats 
mounted,  and  took  the  reins,  and 
smacked  their  long  whips  over 
the  horses,  their  manner  seemed 
to  say,  "  Now  we  feel  happy !" 
And  how  tenderly  the  thankful 
mothers   led    out  the  rosy  girls, 


ANNIVERSARY.  43 

who  had  scarcely  done  blushing 
from  the  unaccustomed  trial  of 
,  their  modesty.  And  how  plea- 
santly, the  fathers,  in  groups 
among  the  speckled  trees,  talked 
about  this  new  way  of  bringing 
up  their  sons  and  daughters  in  the 
knowledge  of  God. 

I  am  sure  these  sensible,  ho- 
nest people  went  home  with  more 
love  to  their  families,  and  greater 
determination  to  enlighten  their 
minds.  What  a  different  state 
of  things  is  this,  from  that  which 
existed  in  Coventry  forty  years 
ago.  Then  there  were  no  Sun- 
day-schools ;  no  questions  on  the 


44  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

Bible ;  no  cheap  explanations  of 
hard  texts;  no  beautiful  maps  of 
Scripture  places.  Such  books 
were  only  in  the  libraries  of  the 
learned.  Then  there  was  no 
such  easy  way  for  young  Chris- 
tians to  be  helping  on  the  cause 
of  God.  The  pastor  had  not 
then  a  little  army  of  teachers  to 
aid  him  in  his  work ;  nor  a  place 
at  which  he  mio^ht  meet  all  the 
lambs  of  his  flock  together. 

While  I  gazed  on  the  lines  oi 
carriages,  and  trains  of  horsemen, 
and  companies  of  country  people, 
departing  on  foot,  and  as  I  looked 
along  the  three  great  roads  tliat 


ANNIVERSARY.  45 

meet  at  Coventry  church,  I  could 
not  but  exult  and  be  thankful 
"  What  hath  God  wrought !" 

Most  of  these  youth  will  be 
parents  a  few  years  hence.  And 
surely  they  will  be  better  able  to 
bring  up  their  children  "in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord,"  for  having  been  at  Sun- 
day-school themselves.  Some  of 
them  will  be  teachers  of  schools 
in  different  neighbourhoods ;  and 
surely  they  will  be  better  teachers 
for  having  here  learned  the  best 
method  of  instruction.  Some  of 
them  will  be  emigrants  to  the 
far  West ;   and  surely  they  will 


46  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

be  more  disposed,  for  this  instruc- 
tion, to  carry  far  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi the  truth  of  Christ,  and 
plant  churclies  in  tlie  great  States 
that  are  not  yet  named.  Some  of 
these  teachers  will  be  nimisters 
of  the  gospel,  and  surely  they 
will  have  that  qualification  which 
holy  Timothy  had;  who,  from  a 
child,  had  known  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures, which  are  able  to  make 
wise  unto  salvation  throughfaith 
which  is  in  Cknst  Jesus,  Some 
of  them  may  be  missionaries 
to  the  heathen;  and  while  they 
found  schools  in  Africa,  or  in  the 
islands  of  the  sea,  sure/y  they 


ANNIVERSARY.  47 

Will  remember  how  they  were 
tauo'ht  in  the  schools  of  verdant 
Coventry.  May  all  of  them, 
through  the  grace  of  Christ,  be- 
come true  disciples  of  the  Lord  I 
When  we  had  spent  a  little 
time  in  the  parsonage,  with  Mr 
Hunt's  family,  we  found  that  the 
day  was  declining,  and,  there- 
fore, prepared  to  return.  As  we 
drove  off,  the  sun,  near  its  setting, 
was  immediately  before  us,  and 
the  crimson  curtains  of  cloud 
seemed  to  hang  in  the  west,  just 
over  our  beloved  home.  There 
tvas  not  a  mile  of  our  way  which 


48  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

fid  not  present  something  agree- 
able to  the  eye,  or  some  matter 
for  useful  thought.  As  we  passed 
(he  farm-houses,  we  saw  the  la- 
bourers coming  in  from  their  day's 
work,  ready  to  enjoy  their  even- 
ing meal  with  zest,  and  still  more 
ready  to  lie  down  in  gentle,  re- 
freshing slumber,  for  the  sleep  of 
a  labouring  tnan  is  sweety  iche- 
ther  he  eat  little  or  much,  EccL 
V.  12.  The  cows  from  their  pas- 
ture were  slowly  returning,  and 
the  tinkling  of  the  bell  was  heard 
far  off  amono^  the  woods.  The 
fowls  of  the  air  were  silently  ga^ 


ANNIVERSARY.  49 

ihering  to  their  resting  places ; 
and  man  and  beast  preparing  for 
repose. 

These  are  common  sights , 
and  to  many  it  may  seem  trifling 
to  mention  them.  But  is  not  the 
glory  of  God  seen  in  these  ordi- 
nary occurrences  ?  Do  we  not 
discern  in  them  his  wisdom  and 
goodness  ?  The  psalmist  thought 
so.  Many  of  his  beautiful  hymns 
are  framed  in  the  view  of  just 
such  common  scenes.  Read  the 
104th  psalm,  and  you  w411  be 
taught  that  the  every-day  sights 
and  events  are  proper  to  be  min- 
gled with  our  devout  tribute  of 
E 


50  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

praise.  The  trees  of  the  Lord 
are  full  of  sap,  the  cedars  of 
Lebanon  ivhich  he  hath  planted, 
where  the  birds  make  their  nests  * 
as  for  the  stork,  the  fir  trees  are 
her  house.  The  high  hills  are 
a  refuge  for  the  wild  goats,  and 
the  rocks  for  the  conies.  He 
appointed  the  moon  for  seasons, 
the  sun  knoweth  his  going  down. 
Thou  makest  darkness,  and  it 
is  night :  wherein  all  the  beasts 
of  the  forest  do  creep  forth. 
Man  goeth  forth  unto  his  work 
and  to  his  labour  until  the  even- 
ing. 

O  Lord,  how  manifest  are  thy 


ANNIVERSARY.  51 

works!    in   wisdom   hast   thou 
made  them  all ! 

It  was  dark  wnen  we  arrived 
at  home.  God  had  prospered  uh 
fhrough  the  day,  and  now  we 
were  bound  to  render  him  thanks, 
I  trust  it  was  not  insincerely,  that, 
in  our  several  families,  we  knelt 
before  the  Lord  our  maker,  to 
praise  him  for  his  goodness.  A 
day  spent  in  the  service  of  Christ 
is  always  a  day  of  enjoyment 
O  that  the  idle  and  the  worldly 
knew  this !  Then,  instead  of  run- 
ning from  one  amusement  to 
anotlier,  and  tastmg  every  plea- 
sure   without    satisfaction,    they 


52  ANNIVERSAKV. 

might  find  every  day  happier  than 
that  which  preceded  it,  and  all 
their  enjoyments  preparatory  foi 
heaven. 

Reader  !  The  Lord  Jesus 
Cnrist  has  work  for  you  to  do 
Believe  in  him,  receive  him  as 
your  Saviour,  bow  to  him  as  your 
master,  confide  in  him  as  your 
elder  brother;  and  he  will  be  youi 
support,  delight,  and  portion  for 
ever  and  ever. 


THE  EINL). 


THE 


LITTLE  STORY  BOOK 


WEITTEN   FOR    THE    AMERICAN    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   UNIOK,  AND 
REVISED  BV  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  PUBLICATION. 


O  Olyyv  c_^  AW  Ou  vd  c* 


ieKav\cic\ 


AMERICAN    SUNDAY-SCHOOL   UNION: 

1122  CHESTNUT    STREET,   PHILADELPHIA. 
375  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


THE 

LITTLE  STOEY  BOOK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   PLAY-GROUND. 

I  AM  sure  the  little  boy  who  is 
reading  this  book  is  fond  of  play. 
All  children  are  fond  of  play  ; 
and  there  is  nothing  wrong  in 
this,  if  they  play  at  the  right 
time,  and  when  their  parents  or 
teachers  give  them  leave. 

Mrs.  Truman  had  one  little 
son,  named  Thomas.  One  day, 
after  he  had  been  working  seve- 
ral hours,  helping  his  poor  mother 

3 


THE  LITTLE 


to  get  some  yarn  ready  for  the 
weaver,  she  called  him  and  said, 
"Now,  Tommy,  you  may  run  out 


and  play  at  blind  man's  buff  or 
cricket.  Here  is  the  nice  new 
ball  I  have  made  for  you.  But 
you  must  be  sure  to  come  back 
before  dinner." 


STORY  BOOK.  5 

*'Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Tommy, 
"  I  shall  not  stay  long."  And  the 
little  fellow  jumped  out  of  the 
door,  and  ran  oft'  to  the  green, 
where  John  and  Joseph  Thomp- 
son were  playing  cricket.  His 
good  mother  looked  after  him, 
and  was  pleased  to  see  her  little 
son  so  rosy  and  happy. 

Mrs.  Truman  was  very  poor, 
and  had  to  work  hard  for  her  liv- 
ing, but  she  feared  the  Lord,  and 
this  was  enough  to  make  her 
contented.  She  loved  her  little 
boy,  and  tried  to  teach  him  every 
thing  that  was  good.  And  Tho- 
mas was  always  glad  to  read  in 


a2 


6  THE  LITTLE 

the  Bible,  and  to  near  about  the^ 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

But  I  must  tell  what  happened 
at  the  play-ground.  After  the 
boys  had  played  ball  for  more 
than  an  hour,  they  began  to  be 
tired.  John  Thompson  was  the 
•son  of  a  gardener,  and  his  father 
had  a  great  many  fine  plants. 
So,  when  they  had  done  playing, 
John  said, 

"  Come,  Tommy,  let  us  go  to 
our  garden,  and  see  the  beautiful 
flowers.  We  can  play  there  all 
the  afternoon." 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Thomas,  "I 
cannot  go,  for  mother  said  I  must 


STORY  BOOK.  7 

come  home   before  dinner,  and 
she  canfiot  do  without  me." 

John,  She  does  not  care 
about  your  coming  home  so  very 
soon.  I  am  sure  she  can  do  very 
well  without  you. 

Thomas.  No,  she  cannot,  in- 
deed ;  for  she  has  to  work  hard 
for  her  living,  and  she  has  no  one 
but  me  to  help  her.  And  she 
wants  me  to  take  some  yarn  to 
Mr.  Reed,  the  weaver,  so  that 
we  may  get  a  little  money. 

Joseph,  1  know  why  Tommy 
will  not  go  with  us.  He  is  afraid 
of  getting  a  whipping  from  his 
mother. 


8  THE  LITTLE 

When  Thomas  heard  this,  he 
oegan  to  be  ashamed.  He  was 
so  foolish,  that  he  chose  to  do 
wronoj  rather  than  to  be  lauo^hed 
at  by  these  bad  boys.  So  he  dis- 
obeyed his  mother,  and  went  with 
them  to  the  garden. 

When  they  got  there,  they  saw 
a  great  many  fine  plants  and 
shrubs,  and  little  Sally  and  Jane 
Thompson  filled  a  basket  with 
beautifiil  flowers.  There  were 
roses,  and  pinks,  and  lilies,  and 
tulips,  and  peonies,  and  many 
others ;  and  they  were  all  tied  up 
in  little  nosegays.  Tommy  want- 
ed some  of  these  very  much,  but 


STORY  BOOK. 

he  did  not  know  how  to  get  them. 
At  last  he  thought  he  would  give 
his  ball  for  some  of  them.  Now 
his  niother  had  given  him  this 
ball  upon  his  birth-day :  it  was 
covered  with  green  and  red  lea- 
ther, and  was  very  pretty.  Mrs. 
Truman  was  poor,  and  she  had 
no  other  present  to  make  her  son 
on  his  birth-day,  and  Thomas 
had  promised  her  that  he  would 
not  barter  it  away. 

At  last  he  was  so  desirous  to 
have  the  flowers,  that  he  gave 
the  ball  to  Sally  Thompson  for  a 
basket  full  of  them,  and  promised 
her  that  he  would  bring  the  bas- 
ket back  the  next  morning. 


10 


THE  LITTLE 


CHAPTER  II. 


HEN  it  began 
to  be  dark, 
our  Tommy 
took  his 
basket  of 
flowers,  and 
j;^\^|f  set  off  to  go  home.  He 
was  weary  and  hungry, 
ii¥~'' 'land,. what  was  worse, 
tie  felt  very  badly,  because  he 
had  been  doing  wrong. 

As  he  w^alked  home,   some- 
thing within  him  seemed  to  tell 


STORY  BOOK.  H 

him  that  he  was  a  bad  boy,  and 
that  he  had  committed  sin.  This 
was  his  conscience.  He  was  al- 
most ashamed  to  see  his  mother's 
face.  He  knew  that  he  had  made 
her  very  sorry,  and  he  thought 
that  perhaps  she  had  gone,  her- 
self, to  the  weaver's  with  the  yarn. 
Then  he  wished  he  could  get  the 
ball  back  again,  and  that  he  had 
not  gone  to  the  garden,  and  that 
he  had  not  played  with  these  idle 
boys.  Tommy  was  almost  ready 
to  cry  at  the  thought  of  all  this. 
When  he  got  almost  home,  the 
thought  came  into  his  head,  that 
he  would  just  tell  his  mother  how 


12  THE  LITTLE 

bad  he  nad  been,  and  ask  her  to 
forgive  him.  Mrs.  Truman  was 
sitting  by  the  door,  sewing  some 
clothes  for  him.  As  soon  as  she 
saw  him,  she  said,  "O,  Tommy 
Tommy,  you  do  not  know  how 
unhappy  you  have  made  me.  I 
did  not  know  what  had  become 
of  you,  and  I  was  afraid  you  had 
met  with  some  accident." 

When  Thomas  heard  this  he 
began  to  weep,  and  hid  his  face 
in  his  mother's  lap.  "  Oh,  mother," 
said  he,  "  I  ask  your  pardon :  I 
am  a  wicked  boy,  for  I  have  dis- 
obeyed you,  and  broken  my  pro- 
mise ;  and  I  have   given   away 


STORy  BOOK.  13 

the  ball  which  you  made  for  me." 
Then  he  told  his  mother  all  that 
had  happened. 

Mrs.  Truman  kissed  her  little 
son,  and  said,  "  Tommy,  I  am 
glad  that  you  have  confessed  the 
whole  truth  of  your  own  accord. 
I  would  rather  lose  a  nundred 
balls  than  that  my  son  should  be 
a  liar.  If  you  are  really  sorry 
for  being  so  undutiful,go  and  con- 
fess it  to  the  Lord,  and  ask  him 
to  forgive  you,  for  Christ's  sake. 
And  be  sure,  my  dear  boy,  never 
to  do  so  any  more." 

Now,  my  little  readers,  I  wish 

you  to  learn  from  this  simple  sto- 
B 


14  THE  LITTLE 

ry,  never  to  let  bad  companions 
lead  you  into  disobedience. 
Never  break  your  promises  ;  ne- 
ver disobey  your  parents  ;  and 
if,  at  any  time,  you  have  done 
wrong,  never  deny  it,  but  confess 
the  whole  truth.  Confess  it  to 
those  whom  you  have  offended, 
and  confess  it  to  God.  This  will 
make  you  feel  easy  in  your  mind, 
and  if  you  are  sincere,  you  will 
be  forgiven 


STORY  BOOK. 


15 


>^l/. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

.THE  HOLIDAYS. 

ooK    at    the 
coach  stand- 
ing    at     the 
gate.      It    is 
in  good  time. 
And  what  is  it 
there 
for? 
It    has 
come  to 
take  the  boys 
home    from    school 
to   sjDcnd   the   holi- 


16  THE  LITTLE 

days.  Little  boys  are  always 
glad  when  the  vacation  comes, 
for  then  they  can  go  home,  and 
see  their  dear  parents,  and  bro- 
thers and  sisters.  But  who  is 
that  going  out  of  the  acade- 
my doorj^  with  his  cap  in  his 
hand  ?  That  is  young  Frank 
Bell,  who  is  going  home  in  the 
coach.  He  is  taking  leave  of  the 
little  boys  who  are  not  to  go 
away  from  school. 

Now  the  driver  has  cracked  his 
whip ;  the  horses  are  trotting 
along,  and  the  wheels  are  going 
round.  The  coach  drives  on  so 
fast,  that  the  trees   and    fences 


STORY  BOOK.  17 

seem  to  be  sliding  back.  O,  how 
delighted  the  little  fellows  are 
Every  thing  fills  them  with  plea- 
sure. They  look  out  at  the  fine 
houses,  and  woods,  and  green 
meadows,  and  grain-fields  ;  the 
streams  and  bridges  ;  the  flocks 
and  the  birds.  They  pass  through 
pretty  villages,  and  every  few 
houses  some  one  of  the  scho- 
lars gets  out  at  his  father's  door. 
The  boys  laugh  and  talk  about 
the  pleasant  times  they  shall  have 
when  they  get  home,  and  how 
glad  they  shall  be  to  meet  with 
their  dear  friends  once  more. 
The  little  fellows  laughed  and 

b2 


18  THE  LITTLE 

sang  so  much,  that  Mr.  Carson, 
who  went  along  to  take  care  of 
them,  had  to  tell  them  they  must 
be  quiet.  He  said  to  them, "Boys, 
you  must  not  keep  such  an  up- 
roar, or  the  people  along  the  way 
will  think  you  are  a  parcel  of 
drunken  sailors.  And,  besides, 
when  we  stop  at  the  door  of  any 
house,  you  must  let  the  good 
people  see  what  quiet,  well-be- 
haved    young    gentlemen     you 


are" 


STORY  BOOK. 


19 


So  the  boys  were  more  peace- 
able, but  they  could  not  help 
shouting  out  now  and  then, 
when  any  of  them  saw  a  place 
with  which  he  was  acquainted, 
or  came  in  sight  of  his  own 
home. 


THE  LITTLE 


But  see!  Whose 
house  have  they 
come  to?  This  is 
the  house  of  Mr.  Bell, 
'^  Frank's  father.  See! 
Frank  has  jumped 
out  of  the  coach. 
There  is  his  dear  mother 
\Nyat  the  door,  ready  to  meet 
him.  There  is  his  little  sister 
Jane.  And  there  is  his  dog  Tray. 


STORY  BOOK.  21 

When  Frank  had  got  into  the 
parlour  and  sat  down,  h6  began 
to  tell  them  every  thing  that  came 
into  his  head  about  the  school. 
He  asked  a  hundred  questions 
about  the  servants,  and  the 
neighbours,  and  his  playmates , 
and  while  they  were  preparing 
his  dinner,  he  walked  out  to  meet 
his  father,  who  was  coming  home 
from  the  farm.  Mr.  Bell  was  re- 
joiced to  see  his  son  so  much 
grown,  and  looking  so  well. 

"  Father,"  said  Frank,  "  I  have 
a  letter  in  my  pocket  from  the 
teacher,  which  will  tell  you  how 
I  have  behaved  myself" 


22  THE  LITTLE 

''Very  well,"  said  his  father, 
"  let  me  have  it ;  I  hope  you  have 
been  a  good  boy." 

Mr.  Bell  read  the  letter,  and 
found  that  Frank  had  been  very 
dihgent,  and  that  the  master  con- 
sidered him  one  of  the  best  boys 
in  the  academy.  And  Frank 
blushed,  and  was  full  of  pleasure, 
when  he  saw  how  much  his  dear 
father  was  delighted. 

There  is  hardly  any  thing 
which  gives  parents  so  much 
pleasure  as  for  their  children  to 
behave  well,  and  to  learn  dili- 
gently. And  if  little  boys  and 
girls  would  only  think  of  this,  it 


STORY  BOOK.  23 

would  make  them  careful  to 
avoid  every  thing  which  is  wrong. 

Mr.  Bell  went  in  with  Frank 
to  dinner,  and  after  dinner  he 
took  his  son  into  the  garden,  and 
talked  with  him  a  long  time;  for 
he  wished  to  see  whether  Frank 
had  been  learning  what  was  use- 
ful, and  especially  whether  he 
had  remembered  the  religious 
truths  which  he  had  been  taught 
by  his  parents.  He  was  pleased 
when  Frank  told  him  that  he 
had  not  forgotten  these  things. 

"Have  you  been  careful  to 
read  your  Bible,  Frank'?"  said 
Mr.  Bell. 


24  THE  LITTLE 

F7'ank,  Yes,  sir.  Here  it  is 
I  always  carry  it  with  me  in  this 
little  silk  case,  which  mother 
made,  to  keep  it  from  being  soil- 
ed. 

Mr.  BelL  How  much  of  it 
have  you  read  ? 

Frank.  I  have  read  through 
the  whole  since  this  time  a  yec^- 
ago. 

Mr.  BelL  I  hope  you  have 
committed  some  of  it  to  me- 
mory. 

Frank.  Yes,  sir.  I  have 
learned  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
and  eleven  chapters  of  the  gos- 
pel of  John,  and  several  of  the 


STORY  BOOK.  25 

psalms  of  David.  ^  And  we  have 
studied  a  great  deal  with  the  Sun- 
day-school Questions. 

Mr.  Bell  My  dear  Frank, 
have  you  been  careful  to  pray  to 
God? 

Frank,,  I  have  always  tried  to 
pray  every  morning  and  evening. 

Mr.    Bell    then    talked    about 

good  things  till  the   tears  came 

into   his   little   son's  eyes.     And 

when  they  went  into   the  house 

again,  he  told  Frank  that  he  must 

get  up  very  early  in  the  morning, 

and  come  into  the  summer-house, 

where   he  would  find  something 

to  please  him. 

c 


26 


THE  LITTLE 


In  the  morning,  Frank  was  up 
betimes.  He  hastened  down  to 
the  garden,  and  went  into  the 
summer-house.     There  he  saw  a 


number  of  beautiful  presents, 
which  his  father  had  prepared  as 
the  reward  for  his  good  beha- 
viour. 


STORY  BOOK.  27 

There  was  a  little  ship,  and  a 
rockiiio'-horse  ;  a  beautiful  booK, 
and  a  large  kite,  covered  with 
pictures. 

While  he  was  looking  at  these, 
his  father  came  in,  and  said, 
"My  dear  Frank,  your  mother 
and  I  do  not  wish  to  bribe  you. 
We  are  sure  you  would  be  dili- 
gent without  these  gifts.  But  we 
have  given  you  these  things  to 
encourage  you,  and  to  show  you 
how  much  pleasure  it  gives  us 
when  you  are  diligent,  industri- 
ous, and  obedient.  Continue  to 
be  so.  And  above  all  things, 
love  and  serve  God,    believe  in 


28  THE  LITTLE 

the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  strive 
to  do  whatever  you  find  com- 
manded in  the  Bible." 


STOEY  BOOK.  29 

CHAPTER  lY. 

THE   LITTLE   LIARS. 

Mrs.  Goodlove  and  her  daugh- 
,er  Helen  were  one  day  sitting  al 
their  work,  when  the  little  girl 
stopped  sewing,  and  said, 

"  Mother,  is  it  not  wicked  to 
call  any  one  a  liar?^^ 

Mrs.  G,  Yes,  my  dear,  we 
should  never  call  anybody  by 
any  bad  name.  But  it  is  worse 
a  great  deal  to  be  a  liar. 

Helen.  Mother,  what  is  a  liar  ? 

3Irs.  G.  A  liar  is  one  who 
tells  lies.  A  liar  is  a  person  who 
tells  what  he  knows  is  not  true. 

c  2 


30  THE  LITTLE 

A  lie  is  a  wilful  falsehood.  And 
the  Bible  says  some  dreadful 
things  about  liars. 

Helen.  Tell  me,  if  you  please, 
some  of  the  things  that  the  Bible  . 
says  about  liars. 

Mrs.  G.  It  says  the  Lord 
hates  a  lying  tongue.  God  says, 
"Lie  not  one  to  another;"  and, 
"  Lying  lips  are  an  abomination 
to  the  Lord."  The  devil  is  a  liar, 
and  the  father  of  lies.  And  the 
Scriptures  declare  that  "Liars 
shall  have  their  portion  in  the 
lake  that  burnetii  with  fire  and 
brimstone." 

Helen.     Oh,  I    hope    I  shall 


STORY  BOOK.        '  31 

Qever  be  so  wicked  as  to  telJ  lies, 
Are  there  not  some  little  children 
who  are  liars  ? 

Mrs.  G.  Yes,  my  dear,  I  am 
sorry  that  there  are.  Would  you 
like  to  hear  a  story  about  two 
such  children? 

Helen.  Yes,  ma'am  ;  please  to 
tell  me. 

Mrs.  G.  There  w^ere  two 
little  children,  named  George  and 
Mary  Gray.  Their  father  and 
mother  were  rich,  and  gave  them 
fine  clothes,  and  a  great  many 
presents ;  but  they  never  taught 
them  to  fear  the  Lord,  and  the 
little  boj^  and  girl  learned  more 


32  '        THE  LITTLE 

wickedness  than  I  should  like  to 
mention. 

One  morning  Mary  came  to 
her  mother,  and  said,  "Mother 
will  you  please  to  let  me  go  up- 
stairs and  play  with  my  doll '?" 
"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Gray, "  but  take 
care  and  do  not  let  the  old  cat 
follow  you  into  the  room,  for  my 
tame  robin  is  hopping  about  the 
floor,  and  puss  would  be  sure  to 
kill  him."  Mary  promised  that 
she  would  take  good  care,  and 
not  let  the  cat  in.  She  went  up- 
stairs, and  took  her  doll  out  of  the 
drawer.  She  undressed  it  and 
dressed  it  again,  and  played  with 


STORY  BOOK.  ,  33 

il  till  she  was  weary.  At  last  she 
thought  it  would  be  very  divert- 
ing to  put  the  doll's  cap  on  the 
cat. 

Helen.  Did  she  not  remem- 
ber what  her  mother  had  told 
her'? 

Mrs,  G.  No;  she  was  a  care- 
less child,  and  she  forgot  all  that 
her  mother  had  said.  She  was 
foolish  enough  to  let  puss  come 
into  the  room,  where  she  behaved 
\^ery  well  all  the  time  that  Mary 
was  undressing  the  doll.  But  as 
soon  as  Mary  tried  to  put  the 
cap  upon  puss,  she  ran  off  to  the 
corner  of  the  room,  where  little 


34 


THE  LITTLE 


Robin  was  picking  up  crumbs. 
She  sat  very  still  for  a  few  mi- 
nutes, and  then  jumped  suddenly 


upon  the  poor  bird,  and  killed 
him  in  an  instant. 

Helen.  Poor  Robin !  what  a 
pity!  But  what  did  Mary  do 
then  ? 

Mrs,  G.  Mary  was  verV  much 


STOR^  BOOK.  35 

frightened,  because  she  knew  that 
her  mother  would  be  displeased. 
She  ran  out  of  the  room,  and 
the  cat  ran  too,  carrying  the  bird 
in  her  mouth.  Mary  saw  this, 
and  tried  to  make  puss  drop  the 
bird. 

Helen.   Did  Mary  tell  her  mo- 
ther ? 

Mrs.  G.  No,  she  was  wick 
ed  enough  to  begin  to  make  up 
a  falsehood.  So  she  took  the 
bird  and  laid  it  in  the  entry. 
Then  she  went  into  the  back 
parlour,  and  sat  down  to  her 
sewing.  When  her  mother  came 
rnto  the  house,  she  was  surprised 


36  'THE  LITTLE 

to  find  her  little  pet  bird  lying 
dead.  She  asked  Mary  whether 
she  had  not  let  the  cat  come  in, 
but  Mary  denied  it.  But  just  as 
Mary  was  telling  this  great  false- 
hood, her  brother  George  came 
running  in  with  the  cat,  which 
still  had  the  doll's  cap  on  As 
soon  as  Mrs.  Gray  saw  the  spot 
of  blood  on  the  little  white  cap, 
she  knew  how  it  had  happened ; 
and  Mary  had  to  confess  the 
whole  truth. 

Helen,  What  a  wicked  child  ! 

Mrs,  G,  Yes,  my  daughter, 
it  was  a  grievous  sin  against 
God      For  God  sees    us,   and 


STORY  BJOK.  37 

hears  us  whenever  we  say  a 
word  that  is  untrue,  and  he  is 
greatly  offended  with  all  liars. 

Helen,  Please  to  tell  me  somf> 
thing  more  about  this  little  girl 

Mrs,  G,  1  will  do  so  ;  for  I 
wish  to  teach  you  about  another 
kind  of  falsehood.  I  mean  the 
breaking  of  our  promises.  If 
you  were  to  promise  to  stay  in 
the  house  all  the  morning,  and 
then  were  to  go  out  of  doors,  it 
would  be  breaking  your  promise 
to  me. 

Helen,     Yes,  I  know  that 


I> 


38  THE  LITTLE 

CHAPTER  V. 

,One  morning 
George  and 
Mary  came 
down  into 
W^M^t^Q  parlour 
where  their  father 
and  mother  were  sit- 
^1  ting  at  the  table,  and 
asked  leave  to  go  and 
play  in  the  garden.  Now,  there 
was  a  fish-pond  in  the  garden, 
which  was  quite  deep  enough  to 
drown  these  little  children,  and 
Mrs.  Gray  was  very  careful  to 


STORY  BOOK  39 

keep  them  from  going  too  near  it. 
She  therefore  made  them  promise 
that  they  would  keep  away  from 
this  part  of  the  garden.  The 
children  declared  that  they  would 
not  go  near  the  pond,  and  then 
ran  out  to  play.  After  a  little 
time  they  began  to  be  tired  of 
running  up  and  down  the  walks, 
and  picking  flowers  from  the  bor- 
ders. Then  George  said,  "  I  do 
not  think  there  would  be  any 
harm  in  our  just  looking  at  the 
fish  in  the  pond." 

''  O,"  said  Mary,  "  but  you 
tinow  we  said  we  would  not  go 
near  it." 


40  THE  LITTLE 

"  Yes,"  said  George,  "  but  no- 
body will  know  it,  and  we  will 
come  right  back." 

So  the  little  girl  consented  to 
do  this  evil  thing,  to  break  her 
word,  and  to  disobey  her  parents 
There  was  a  very  small  boat  in 
the  pond,  which  was  not  much 
larger  than  a  large  w^ashing-tub, 
and  was  made  more  to  look  at 
than  for  any  thing  else.  The 
foolish  children  got  into  this  boat, 
and  sat  in  it  for  some  time.  At 
last  George  said  he  would  just 
put  his  foot  out  and  push  against 
the  bank,  to  make  the  boat  move 
a  little.     But  as  soon  as  he  did 


STORY  BOOK. 


41 


this,  the  boat  went  away  off  on 
the  pond,  and  George  fell  sprawl- 
ing into  the  water. 


Helen,  Oh,  I  hope  he  did  not 
o:et  drowned! 

Mj^s,  G.  No.  But  he  was 
wet  from  head  to  foot ;  and  there 
was  poor  little  Mary  in  the  boat, 

d2 


42  THE  LITTLE 

SO  far  from  the  shore  that  she- 
could  not  get  out ,  and  George 
could  not  reach  her.  They  both 
began  to  cry.  George  was  afraid 
to  wade  out  into  the  water,  for 
he  did  not  know  how  deep  it 
might  be ;  and  Mary  did  not  know 
how  she  was  to  get  out  of  the 
boat.  But  they  cried  so  loudly, 
that  their  father  heard  them,  and 
ran  to  their  relief  When  they 
came  into  the  house,  they  weie 
very  much  ashamed  of  having 
been  so  wilful  and  disobedient. 

Helen,  I  think  they  deserved 
to  get  into  trouble,  for  being  so 
bad. 


STORY  BOOK.  43 

Mrs  G,  Yes,  we  always  de- 
serve to  suffer  when  we  commit 
sin;  and  it  is  a  great  mercy  that 
the  Lord  does  not  send  judgments 
on  us  whenever  we  disobey  his 
commandments.  I  hope  my  dear 
little  girl  will  always  speak  the 
truth,  and  remember  that  God 
hears  every  word  you  say;  and 
that  you  must  give  an  account 
of  every  wrong  word  in  the  day 
of  judgment. 


44 


THE  LITTLE 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  IDLE  BOY. 


LFRED  Sims 
was  an  idle 
bov.  His 
father  was 
a  poor  man, 
and  had  hard  work 
to  get  money  enough 
to  send  his  little  son 
to  school.  But  Alfred  thought  it 
was  a  great  hardship  to  get  his 


STOKY   BOOK.  45 

lessons,  and  was  <xlad  to  aet  a 
chaiiceto  stay  away  from  scliooL 
Sometimes  he  would  pretend  to 
be  sick,  to  keep  from  going ;  and 
when  he  was  at  school,  he  was 
hardly  ever  looking  at  his  book. 

Almost  every  day  his  teacher 
had  to  correct  him,  but  he  did  not 
seem  to  become  any  better.  At 
last  he  learned  to  play  truant, 
and  used  to  stay  away  from 
school  whole  days.  Then,  when 
he  came  home  in  the  evening,  he 
would  pretend  that  he  had  been 
studying  hard  with  the  other  boys^. 

Once  he  ran  off,   and   ran  a 


46  THE  LITTLE 

who^e  morning  through  the  mud, 
after  a  company  of  soldiers  who 
were  parading  through  the  streets. 
When  he  came  home,  he  was 
hungry  and  tired,  and  in  the  night 
he  was  taken  sick  with  a  fever, 
and  was  confined  to  bed  for  two 
weeks. 

Another  time,  he  told  his  father 
that  he  was  going  to  school.  But 
instead  of  this,  he  went  to  a  pub- 
lic stable,  where  they  used  to 
hire  out  horses.  Here  he  saw  a 
little  pony  which  the  hostler  was 
rubbing  down.  It  was  not  much 
larger  than  a  small  cok  and  Al- 


STORY  BOOK.  47 

fred  wished  very  much  to  get  on 
his  back  and  ride.  The  hostler 
told  him  that  he  was  afraid  the 
pony  would  throw  him,  but  Al- 
fred insisted  upon  trying  to  ride. 
So  he  mounted  the  little  horse 
and  rode  offi  But  he  had  not 
gone  a  hundred  yards,  before  the 
pony  kicked  up  its  heels,  and 
threw  him  off  against  a  fence 
He  was  very  much  hurt,  and  was 
carried  home,  bruised  and  bleed- 
ing. 

This  cured  him  of  playing  tru- 
ant, but  still  he  did  not  love  his 
books,  and  was  almost  as  idle  as 
before.     His  poor  father  usea  to 


18  mE  LITTl.E 

talk  to  him,  and  try  to  make  him 
learn  but  Alfred  was  careless 
and  disobedient.  At  length  his 
father  told  him  plainly,  that  if  he 
did  not  learn,  he  must  be  bound 
out  to  a  shoemaker.  Alfred  did 
not  like  the  thought  of  hard  work, 
and  he  promised  his  father  that 
he  would  be  a  better  boy.  Bui 
his  idleness  was  not  yet  cured. 

Some  of  the  little  boys  and 
girls  in  the  same  school  used  to 
get  beautiful  books  as  premiums 
for  diligence ;  but  while  they 
would  be  sitting  and  reading  their 
new  books,  Alfred  would  be  out 
dn  the  green  playing  at  ball   Yet 


STORY  BOOK.  49 

these  good  children  were  much 
happier  than  he  was.  For  when 
people  do  wrong,  they  never  can 


bUNDAT   SCHOOL 


feel    altogether    comfortable    or 

easy  in  their  minds. 

There    was    a    little    fellow, 

named  John  Boatman,  who  lived 
E 


50  THE  LITTLE 

next  door  to  Alfred's  house.  This 
bey  often  tried  to  persuade  Al- 
fred to  learn,  but  his  words  seem- 
ed to  be  of  no  use.  At  last  John 
thought  he  would  try  and  get  him 
to  go  to  the  Sunday-school ;  for 
Alfred  had  never  been  to  Sunday- 
school  in  his  life.  One  Sabbath 
morning  John  met  Alfred  just  by 
the  door  of  the  Sunday-school, 
and  asked  him  to  go  in.  At  first, 
he  pretended  that  he  had  a  head- 
ache, but  finally  he  consented  to 
go  in.  He  was  more  pleased 
than  he  expected  to  be.  He 
heard  a  great  many  things  which 
^le  never  know  before ;  and  the 


STORY  BOOK. 


51 


singing    was   very    delightful    to 
him. 


The  next  Sabbath  he  came 
again,  of  his  own  accord.  The 
ieacher  gave  him  a  little  book 
with  pictures  in  it,  and  showed 
him  how  to  get  his  lesson.     41- 


52  THE  LITTLE 

fred  wondered  to  see  how  busy 
all  the  children  were ;  and  this 
too  without  any  scolding  or 
whipping.  He  began  to  think  it 
was  worth  while  for  him  to  study 
also.  And  it  was  not  long  before 
he  became  q»  very  diligent  scho- 
lar. 

Alfred  found  so  much  pleasure 
in  getting  his  Sunday  lessons, 
that  he  made  up  his  mind  to 
learn  his  week-day  lessons  too. 
All  the  boys  saw  that  there  was 
a  great  change  in  him,  and  the 
teacher  was  so  much  pleased, 
that  he  called  at  his  father's,  and 
told  him  that  Alfred  had  got  to 


STORY  BOOK.  53 

be  one  of  the  best  boys  in  the 
whole  school.  Mr.  Sims  was 
very  much  rejoiced  to  hear  this, 
and  when  he  spoke  to  Alfred 
about  it,  he  found  that  it  had  all 
come  from  his  going  to  the  Sun- 
day-school. 

Alfred  learned  a  great  deal 
out  of  the  Bible,  and  especially 
about  the  history  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  lie  was  no  long- 
er the  Idle  Boy,  for  he  had  be- 
come quite  industrious.  And  his 
lessons  were  so  far  from  keeping 
him  from  work,  that  he  did  more 
to  help  his  father  than  he  had 
ever  done  before.     And  besides 

E  2 


54    THE  LITTLE  8T0RY  BOOK. 

this,  the  things  which  he  learned 
out  of  the  Scriptures  did  good  to 
his  soul.  He  grew  up  to  be  a 
sober,  kind,  honest,  pious  man, 
and  was  for  many  yeai-s  a  Sun- 
day-school teacher  himself. 


HARVEST. 


WRITTEN  FOR  THE  AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNIOM,  A^f 
REVISED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  PUBLICATION: 


dwve  /  a..:4  4  «t  U     M  le  xa  n  d  5^ 


AMERICAN    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    UNION: 

1122  CHESTNUT  STREET,  PHILADELPHIA. 
875  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  183i, 
by  Paul  Beck,  Jr.,  Treasurer,  in  trust  for  the  A  merican  Sunday- 
school  Union,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  th« 
Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PREFACE. 


This  dialogue  is  an  attempt  to  answer  the 
following  ends- 
First,  to  suggest  a  method  of  connecting 
natural  scenes  of  every-day  life  with  scriptural 
truths,  and  thus  to  encourage  religious  medi- 
tation. 

Secondly,  to  show  how  full  the  Bible  is  of 
imagery  drawn  from  common  affairs. 

Thirdly,    to    communicate    some  facts   in 
Biblical  Antiquities. 

It  is   intended   for  the  elder  scholars   in 
Sunday-schools. 


4 

i 


HARVEST. 


It  was  a  happy  day  at  the  farm,  when 
faptain  Wells  came  home.  He  had  been 
absent  more  than  two  years.  While  he  was 
in  France  or  England,  his  brother,  Mr.  Wells, 
had  removed  to  the  country.  The  little  chil- 
dren had  grown  a  great  deal,  and  every  thing 
was  changed.  But  they  were  all  glad  to  see 
the  captain.  He  was  fond  of  his  nephews  and 
nieces,  and  always  brought  them  something 
pretty  and  useful  from  Europe. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wells  were 
five  in  number.     Arthur,  the  eldest  son,  was 
a  young  man.     He  had  just  come  home  from 
college.     Caroline  was  sixteen  years  of  age 
a2  5 


6  HARVEST, 

Delia  was  eleven  years  old,  and  Edward  and 
Frank,  who  were  twins,  were  not  more  than 
nine  years  of  age. 

It  was  a  very  warm  day  in  July  when  he  ar- 
rived. The  family  were  scattered  in  different 
parts  of  the  house.  Mr.  Wells  had  been  in  the 
field,  looking  at  his  reapers,  and  Mrs.  Wells 
was  sewing  in  the  porch.  Edward  and  Frank 
were  sitting  upon  the  steps,  making  a  wagon 
out  of  pine  boards.  Caroline  and  Delia  were 
fanning  themselves  in  the  hall,  and  Arthur  was 
reading  in  the  court-yard,  under  a  large  elm. 

f 
Just  as  the  clock  struck  four,  they  heard  a 

stage-coach  drive  up  to  the  opening  of  the  lane, 

and  saw  a  gentleman  get  off  the  box.     They 

knew  it  was  their  uncle  Charles,  for  he  turned 

himself  round  and  waved  his  hand  to   them. 

As  soon  as  he  came  in,  the  children  were  all 

around  him,  asking  him  questions.     Me  was 

a  kitd  man,  and  answered  them  vvith  great 


A  DIALOGUE. 


patience  Then  he  opened  his  large  trunk, 
and  took  out  his  gifts.  There  was  a  large 
Bible,  with  pictures,  for  Arthur,  two  beautiful 


globes  for  the  girls,  and  a  box  of  tools  .or 
Edward  and  Frank.  They  all  seemed  to  be 
very  happy,  and  conversed  with  much  good 
humour,  until  the  hour  came  for  their  evening 
meal.    While  they  were  at  tea,  a  shower  came 


9  HARVIJSJ-, 

on,  which  greatly  cooled  the  air,  anc  gave  a 
freshness  to  the  whole  landscape.  As  they' 
looked  westward,  they  could  see  that  the 
yellow  fields  appeared  more  lovely  ;  the  long 
Ane  of  trees  along  the  brook  was  clean  and 
bright,  and  the  patches  of  Indian  corn  had  a 
clear  and  shining  green. 

Mr.  Wells  said  to  his  family,  as  they  viewed 
the  pleasing  prospect,  this  puts  one  in  mind 
of  David's  beautiful  and  pious  words,  *'  Thou 
visitest  the  earth  and  waterest  it ;  thou  pre- 
parest  them  corn  when  thou  hast  so  provided 
for  it.  Thou  waterest  the  ridges  thereof  abun- 
dantly, thou  causest  the  rain  to  descend  into 
the  furrows  thereof;  thou  makest  it  soft  with 
showers  ;  thou  blessest  the  springing  thereof. 
Thou  crownest  the  year  with  thy  goodness, 
and  thy  paths  drop  fatness.  They  drop  upon 
the  pastures  of  the  wilderness,  and  the  little 
hills  are  girded  with  joy  on  every  side.  The 
pastures  are  clothed  with  flocks,  the  valleys 


A  DIALOGUE.  9 

a' SO  are  co^'ered  over  with  corn  :   they  shout 
tor  joy,  they  also  sing." 

Captain,  I  perceive,  brother,  that  you  still 
have  your  old  way  of  repeating  the  Bible. 
EviBiy  thing  seems  to  remind  you  of  the  Scrip- 
ture. It  is  certainly  a  good  habit,  but  I  never 
could  bring  myself  to  think  of  the  words  of 
Scripture  so  naturally  as  you  do. 

Mr.  W.  The  art  is  easily  learned,  if  one 
begins  early  enough.  The  great  thing  is  to 
read  the  Bible  very  frequently,  and  to  commit 
some  part  of  it  to  memory  every  day.  Then 
if  a  man  loves  it,  he  will  be  reminded  of  it  by 
all  that  he  sees  and  hears. 

Frank    Perhaps  uncle  Charles  would  like 
to  take   a  walk  before   the  sun  goes  down 
Shall  we  get  our  hats  and  bonnets  ? 

Mr.  TV.  I  am  quite  willing.   What  say  you 
rother  Charles  * 


10  HARVEST, 

Capt.  With  all  my  heart.  I  am  fond  of 
the  country.  I  have  been  so  much  at  sea 
lately,  that  it  has  been  along  time  since  I  saw 
any  thing  rural.  When  I  sailed  from  Liver- 
pool, it  was  far  too  early  for  harvest  in  Eng- 
land. I  shall  be  glad  to  see  how  your  grain 
is  coming  on. 

Arthur.  Let  us  walk  then.  I  think,  sir, 
you  will  be  pleased,  for  Providence  has  smiled 
upon  my  father's  farm  this  summer.  We  have 
seldom  had  the  prospect  of  such  crops.  By 
keeping  in  the  lane  and  along  the  road  we  may 
walk,  without  getting  wet.  Come,  girls,  we 
are  waiting  for  you. 

Capt.  Harvest-time  seems  to  be  a  joyful 
time,  all  over  the  world.  When  I  was  in 
Germany.  I  used  to  see  a  great  merry-making 
among  the  people  at  this  season.  And  in  Eng- 
land, they  frolic  rather  too  much,  sometimes, 
at  Harvest-home. 


A  DIALOGUE.  11 

Edward  I  suppose  that  it  makes  people 
glad  to  see  such  good  crops,  and  to  think  that 
they  will  have  something  to  eat  in  the  winter, 

Arthur.  The  Israelites  used  to  rejoice,  with 
psalms  and  shouting,  when  they  took  in  their 
harvest.  I  remember  that  it  is  said  in  the 
prophecy  of  Isaiah  :  "  They  joy  before  thee 
according  to  the  joy  in  harvest;"  and  in  an- 
other place,  where  the  prophet  is  mourning 
over  the  evils  that  were  to  come  upon  Moab, 
he  says,  "  the  shouting  for  the  summer  fruits 
and  for  thy  harvest  is  fallen ;  and  gladness  is 
taken  away,  and  joy  out  of  the  plentiful  field ; 
and  in  the  vineyards  there  shall  be  no  singing, 
neither  shall  there  be  shouting." 

Capt.  The  Avords  are  very  beautiful.  It  is 
much  more  expressive  than  to  say  that  the 
country  is  laid  waste.  By  the  by,  I  should 
like  to  know  at  what  time  of  year  the  harvest 
came  in  Judea. 


12  HARVEST, 

Arthur.  Travellers  are  not  agreed,  sir.  1 
can  only  answer  your  question  by  saying,  that 
the  beginning  of  barley  harvest  in  Judea  is 
about  the  first  of  April.  It  was  some  time,  how- 
ever, before  this  was  over.  The  wheat  harvest 
came  later.  The  two  harvests  extend  from 
the  beginning  of  April  to  the  middle  of  June, 
But  at  Aleppo  the  wheat  harvest  is  commonly 
over  by  the  twentieth  of  May.  The  season, 
called  by  the  Jews  Harvest,  lasted  from  the 
beginning  of  April  till  the  end  of  May.  The 
country  is  said  to'be  as  much  parched  in  May, 
as  it  is  with  us  in  August.  And  Isaiah  seems 
to  allude  to  this,  when  he  compares  God's 
favour  to  a  cloud  of  dew  in  the  heat  of  harvest, 

Mr,  W.  We  have  had  a  shower  this  after- 
noon, and  for  several  days  past  there  has  been 
thunder.  But  this  is  never  the  case  in  Pales- 
tme  during  the  season  of  harvest.  Although 
thunder  and  lightning  are  very  common  there, 
•^hey  come  almost  always  in  winter ;  so,  when 


A  DIALOGUE.  13 

Samuel  wished  to  show  the  Israelites  that  he 
was  sent  by  the  Lord  to  them,  he  prayed  that 
there  might  be  a  thunder  shower.  This  con- 
vinced them  that  he  was  God's  prophet.  It 
is  in  the  12th  chapter  of  1  Samuel ;  "  Is  it  not 
wheat  harvest  to-day?  I  will  call  unto  the 
Lo;"d,  and  he  shall  send  thunder  and  rain,  that 
ye  may  perceive  and  see  that  your  wickedness 
is  great  which  ye  have  done  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  in  asking  you  a  king.  So  Samuel  call- 
ed unto  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  sent  thunder 
and  rain  that  day  ;  and  all  the  people  greatly 
feared  the  Lord  and  Samuel." 

Arthur.  This  fact  explains  the  first  verse 
of  the  26th  chapter  of  Proverbs.  "  As  snow  in 
summer,  and  as  rain  in  harvest ;  so  honour 
is  not  seemly  for  a  fool."  Hcnour  is  as  much 
©ut  of  place  when  conferred  on  a  fool,  as  rain 
would  be  if  sent  in  harvest. 

Delia.  Now  1  see  how  much  good  it  does 
B 


14  HARVEST, 

to  know  something  about  the  climate  of  Judea 
I  never  understood  that  so  well  before. 

Mr.  TV.  I  hope,  my  daughter,  this  will 
make  you  more  diligent  in  learning  every  thing 
which  you  can  find  about  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Israelites.  You  will  find 
enough  for  your  use  in  Nevin's  Biblical  An- 
tiquities.* But  I  wish  to  ask  you  a  ques- 
tion. Is  it  certain  that  we  shall  always  have 
the  summer  and  the  harvest  ?  How  do  you 
know  that  a  year  may  not  come  with  such 
seasons  that  nothing  will  ripen  ? 

Frank.  Because  the  Lord  promised  Noah  ! 
*'  While  the  earth  remaineth,  seed-time  and 
harvest,  and  cold  and  heat,  and  summer  and 
winter,  and  day  and  night  shall  not  cease." 

*  This  is  a  very  useful  and  entertaining  book,  published 
by  the  American  Sunday-school  Union.  The  first  volume 
gives  us  a  history  ol  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Israel- 
ites, and  the  second  volume  of  their  religion  and  govern- 
ment. 


A  DIALOGUE.  15 

Mr.  W.  People  often  forget  that  it  is  God 
who  does  all  this.  In  Palestine  the  grain 
would  never  ripen  if  it  were  not  for  the  regulai 
rains.  The  Lord  reproves  the  ancient  Israel- 
ites  for  not  remembering  that  he  gave  them 
their  rains  and  harvests.  They  ought  to  hav 
feared  God,  because  if  he  had  not  given  them 
these  things,  they  must  have  perished.  He 
says  that  they  are  ungrateful,  "neither  say 
in  their  heart,  let  us  now  fear  the  Lord  our 
God  that  giveth  rain,  both  the  former  and  the 
latter,  in  its  season :  he  reserveth  unto  us  the 
appointed  weeks  of  harvest." 

Capt,  Well,  I  begin  to  think  I  have  done 
wrong  in  the  same  way.  I  love  the  sight  of 
a  fine  yellow  field  of  wheat,  waving  in  the 
sun.  I  w^ould  rather  see  it  than  a  flower  gar- 
den ;  yet  I  believe  I  never  thought  much  ia 
all  my  travels  of  its  being  given  by  God. 

Caroline.  I  have  read  in  the  Bible  about 


16  HARVEST, 

offering  a  slieaf  of  the  harvest  to  the  Loid. 
Will  you  please  to  tell  me  more  about  it,  sir  ? 

Mr»  W.  The  passovei  was  the  time  when 
they  did  this.  On  the  second  day  of  the  pass- 
over  week,  the  Israelites  used  to  take  the  first 
sheaf  of  barley  which  they  reaped,  and  wave 
it  before  the  Lord.  (Levit.  xxiii.  10 — 14.) 
From  this  day  they  counted  seven  weeks,  and 
at  the  end  of  this  time  Pentecost  began.  Pente- 
cost signifies  fiftieth.  It  was  fifty  days  after 
the  day  of  the  wave-sheaf.  At  Pentecost  they 
offered  to  God  the  first-fruits  of  the  wheat- 
Harvest.  (Lev.  xiii.  17.) 

Arthur.  I  suppose  this  was  meant  to  keep 
them  thankful.  Our  pastor  always  remembers 
to  give  public  thanks  to  God  when  the  harvest 
is  taken  in.  We  are  all  too  apt  to  forget  the 
bounty  of  God. 

Mr.  W.  True,  my  son.  "  Nevertheless,  ne 
Qath  not  left  himself  with:>ut  a  witness,  in  that 


A  DIALOGUE.  17 

he  did  good,  and  gave  us  rain  from  heaven, 
and  fruitful  seasons,  filling  our  hearts  with 
food  and  gladness."     (Acts  xiv.  17.) 

Caroline.  You  have  mentioned  the  Passovef 
and  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Which  of  these  h 
c^eAihe  feast  of  harvest? 

Mr.  W.  The  feast  of  weeks,  or  Pentecost, 
is  often  called  i\ie  feast  of  harvest,  because  it 
was  a  season  of  thanksgiving  for  the  blessings 
of  the  year.  The  first-fruits  of  the  wheat  were 
then  offered.  They  were  not  brought,  how- 
ever, in  a  sheaf,  but  were  made  into  loaves. 
These  were  presented  in  the  name  of  the 
whole  congregation ;  and  I  suppose  that  every 
pious  Israelite  rejoiced  and  praised  God  in 
his  heart,  when  he  saw  them  carried  up  to  the 
house  of  God.  Just  so  we  ought  to  feel  when 
we  look  at  yonder  harvest  field. 

Capt.  A  beautiful  sight,  indeed  !    Here  are 
a  great  many  fields  ready  for  the  sic  kle,  besides 
b2 


18  HARVEST, 

those  where  your  men  are  at  work.  The 
breeze  that  comes  over  them  makes  the  tops 
wave  like  the  sea.  I  dare  say,  brother,  you 
have  some  text  to  apply  to  them. 

Frank.  I  have  one,  uncle.  I  got  a  verse 
about  it  this  morning. 

Capt.  Well,  my  little  man,  let  us  have  it  ? 

Frank.  In  the  gospel  according  to  Luke, 
tenth  chapter,  and  second  verse  :  "  Therefore 
said  he  unto  them.  The  harvest  truly  is  great, 
but  the  labourers  are  few ;  pray  ye  therefore 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  would  send 
forth  labourers  into  his  harvest." 

Mr.  Wells.  Now,  my  son,  we  must  see 
whether  you  understand  what  you  learn.  Who 
«aid  these  words  ? 

Frank.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Mr   W,  When  did  he  say  them  ? 


A  DIALOGUE.  19 

Frank.  When  he  sent  the  seventy  discipleg 
into  the  places  where  he  intended  to  go  him* 
self  afterwards. 

Mr  W.  Very  welL  But  what  did  our 
i^aviour  mean  ? 

Frank.  He  meant  that  there  were  a  great 
many  to  be  taught,  and  very  few  to  teach  them* 

Mr.  W.  Right.  But  what  do  you  think  ? 
Is  it  so  now  ? 

Frank.  Yes,  sir,  I  think  it  is.  There  are 
not  half  enough  preachers  of  the  gospel ;  and 
we  cannot  get  teachers  enough  for  one  Sunday- 
school  at  Chestnut  Valley 

Mr.  TV,  What  ought  we  all  to  do  then  ? 

Frank.  We  ought  to  go  ourselves,  and  do 
?is  much  as  we  can,  just  as  the  seventy  disciples 
did  ;  and  while  we  are  working  hard,  we  ought 
to  pray  for  more  to  help  us. 


80  HARVEST, 

Copt.  Why,  you  are  a  little  preachet.  ' 
am  astonished  at  Frank's  knowledge. 

Mr.  W.  You  need  not  be.  I  should  a- 
sorry  if  he  should  think  himself  an  extraordi 
nary  child.  He  is  indebted  for  all  that  h» 
knows  on  these  subjects,  to  the  fact,  that  h< 
has,  ever  since  he  was  old  enough,  committed 
to  memory  a  verse  of  the  Bible  a  day. 

Caipt.  Only  a  verse  ! 

Mr.  TV.  One  verse.  A  single  text  welJ 
learned,  is  worth  a  hundred  rattled  over.  Bu* 
mark,  in  getting  one  verse,  he  has  often  tc 
learn  half  a  dozen  more  to  explain  it.  But 
now  we  have  come  to  the  field  where  our 
men  are  at  work  See,  how  earnestly  they 
arfc  engaged  ! 

Edward.  And  they  do  all  the  work  with^ 
f>at  a  single  drop  of  liquor. 

Capt.  Now  that  is  just  what  I  like  to  see 


A  DIALOGUE.  21 

J  ^^i.  ^  stout  men  at  healthful  work.  If  they 
Pi^  hoi  "jst  and  temperate,  they  are  the  very 
bone  BJii*'  sinew  of  the  country. 

Mr.  h  Yes,  it  is  an  honourable  employ- 
ment, li'ese  men,  by  their  labour,  procure 
what  supp  -rts  all  the  rest  of  us.  We  can 
do  without  your  teas  and  broadcloths,  brother 
Charles,  bu   we  cannot  do  without  our  bread. 

Frank,  i  dam  was  a  farmer,  was  he  nrot, 
father  ? 

Mr.  W.  I  suppose  we  may  call  him  so.  He 
tnied  the  ground.  It  was  part  of  man's  punish- 
ment ;  but  God  has  made  it  also  a  part  of  his 
happiness.     Idle  people  are  always  unhappy. 

Caroline.  Yes,  sir ;  for  there  is  lazy  Lewis 
See  him  lying  under  the  tree  in  the  corner  of 
the  fence. 

Edward.  His  dog  seems  more  awake  than 
0  is;  he  watches  while  Lewis  sleeps. 


22 


HARVEST, 


Frank.  He  puts  us  in  mind  of  a  text  which 
Delia  got  the  other  morning.  What  is  it, 
sister  ? 

Delia.  "He  that  gathereth  in  summer  is  a 
wise  son  ;  but  he  that  sleepeth  in  harvest,  is  a 
eon  that  causeth  shame."     Prov.  x.  5. 

Mr.  W,  Yet,  the  lazy  fellow  thinks  that  he 

s  of  more  account  than  these  honest  men  who 

are  at  their  work.     Their  fathers  were  noi 


A  DIALOGUE.  23 

rich,  but  they  were  industrious,  and  taught 
their  children  to  be  industrious.    These  strono 

a 

and  ruddy  young  men  will  perhaps  be  rich  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years.  The  two  men  who 
are  reaping  in  the  front  row  are  more  than 
sixty  years  old.  Yet,  how  hale  and  robust 
they  are.  Each  of  them  does  more  work  in 
a  day  than  two  slaves  commonly  do. 

Frank.  They  cut  it  very  close  and  even. 

Mr.  W.  Yes,  they  do  indeed.  In  these 
days  it  is  not  the  custom  for  the  poor  people 
to  glean,  as  they  used  to  do  in  old  times.  In 
Judea  they  always  left  something  for  the  poor 
to  pick  up.  It  is  possible  that  some  of  you 
remember  a  passage  to  this  effect. 

Arthur.  In  the  19th  chapter  of  Leviticus,  it 
's  commanded :  "  And  when  ye  reap  the  har- 
vest of  your  land,  thou  shalt  not  wholly  reap 
the  corners  of  thy  field,  neither  shalt  thou 
gather  the  gleanings  of  thy  harvest.       Ymk  aL' 


24  /  HARVEST, 

remember  how  Ruth  gleaned  in  the  field  of 
Boaz.  Let  us  go  under  this  stately  tree,  anxJ 
look  in  our  Bibles  at  this  history  of  Ruth. 

Caroline.  Here,  I  have  found  it ;  it  is  m 
the  second  chapter.  When  Boaz  came  intc 
the  field,  he  spoke  very  kindly  to  the  reapers 
He  said  unto  the  reapers,  "  The  Lord  be  with 
you;  and  they  answered  him,  The  Lord  bless 
thee.'' 

Mr.  W.  It  was  the  beautiful  custom  of  those 
times.  Harvest,  you  know,  was  a  season  of 
|oy.  Among  good  people,  this  was  pious  joy , 
and  they  blessed  one  another  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord. 

Arthur.  The  Psalmist  alludes  to  this  in  the 
I29th  Psalm.  He  is  there  comparing  the  ene- 
mies of  Zion  to  grass  on  the  house-tops , ' '  which 
withereth  before  it  groweth  up :  wherewith 
the  mower  fiUeth  not  his  hand ;  nor  he  that 
bindeth  sheaves  his  bos  bm ;  neither  do  the^ 


A  DIALOGtJE.  25 

which  go  by  say,  T7ie  blessing  of  the  Lord  be 
upon  yoiif  we  bless  you  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord:' 

Caroline.  Let  us  go  on  about  Ruth.  In  the 
next  verses  I  see  that  she  asked  leave  to  glean. 
And  then  she  gleaned  all  day.  And  then  Boaz 
invited  her  to  stay  near  his  young  women,  and 
to  drink  what  the  young  men  had  drawn. 

Frank,  Drink !  Why,  did  they  use  strong 
drink  in  those  days  ? 

Caroline.  I  cannot  tell  you  what  they  drank ; 
perhaps  Arthur  can. 

jirthur.  They  had  vinegar   and  water   to 

quench  their  thirst.     I  suppose  this  is  what  is 

meant  in  the  14th  verse  ;  "  And  Boaz  said  unto 

her,  At  meal-time  come  hither,  and  eat  of  the 

bread,  and  dip  thy  morsel  in  the  vinegar."    It 

was  not  uncommon  to  use  this  drink,  for  if 

you  turn  to  Numbers  vi.  3,  you  will  see  thai 
C 


*36  HARVEST, 

it  is  said  of  the  Nazarite,  "  he  shall  drink 
no  vinegar  of  wine,  or  vinegar  of  strong 
drink." 

Mr.  W.  This  is  not  so  strange  as  you 
might  think.  The  common  drink  of  the  Roman 
soldiers  was  vinegar  and  water. 

Caroline.  The  reapers  left  a  good  deal  on 
purpose  for  Ruth,  and  she  gleaned  an  ephah 
of  barley. 

Arthur.  An  ephah  is  between  three  and  four 
Decks. 

Frank.  Did  the  Hebrews  cut  their  grain 
vith  a  cradle,  or  with  a  sickle  ? 

Capt.  Not  with  a  cradle,  I  dare  say ;  for  in 
the  greater  part  of  Europe,  nobody  ever  saw 
what  we  call  a  cradle.  The  reaping-hook  or 
sickle  is  what  they  use.  I  have  been  in  Wales 
during  harvest,  and  have  seen  them  reaping 
-with  a  very  large  sickle.     They  gather  grain 


A  DIALOGUE.  27 

in  the  arm,  and  cut  it  more  neatly  and  quickly 
than  in  the  common  way. 

Arthur.  What  you  say  about  the  gathering 
of  the  stalks  in  the  arm,  explains  a  verse  in  the 
17th  of  Isaiah:  "And  it  shall  be  as  when  the 
harvest  man  gathereth  the  corn,  and  reapeth 
the  ears  with  his  arm.'' 

Mr.  W.  Perhaps  the  prophet  means  some- 
tliing  else.  He  says  the  harvest  man  reapeth 
the  ears  with  his  arm :  perhaps  he  means  to 
say,  that  they  pulled  up  the  grain  by  the 
roots. 

Delia.  I  have  seen  them  pulling  up  flax  in 
that  way,  but  I  never  saw  them  pull  wheat. 
Why  should  they  do  so  ? 

Mr.  W.  It  is  the  most  common  way  in  the 
east.  All  the  eastern  travellers  tell  us  so. 
They  have  so  little  fodder  for  their  cattle,  and 
80  little  fuel,  that  they  save  every  inch  of 


28  HARVEST, 

Straw,  and  leave  no  stubble  in  the  field,  yet 
they  sometimes  use  the  sickle. 

Frank.  Now,  uncle,  look  at  the  field  on  the 
other  side  of  the  brook.  It  looks  something 
hke  a  camp.  The  shocks  look  like  tents.  I 
suppose  it  is  the  practice  in  most  countries  to 
pui  up  sheaves  into  little  stacks  or  shocks. 

Mr.  TV.  After  the  grain  was  cut  down  or 
pulled  up  by  the  Israelites,  it  was  formed  into 
sheaves ;  but  the  sheaves  were  never  set  up 
into  shocks  as  with  us,  although  they  are 
mentioned  in  our  translation  of  Judges  xv.  5. 
Job  V  26 :  for  the  original  word  signifies 
neither  j.  shock,  composed  of  a  few  sheaves 
standing  in  the  field,  nor  a  stack  of  many 
sheaves  in  the  barn-yard,  but  a  heap  of  sheaves 
laid  loosely  together,  in  order  to  be  trodden 
aul  as  quickly  as  possible.* 

*  Brown's  Ant  vol.  u.  p.  591  Lond.  ed 


A  DIALOGUE.  29 

Frank.    Now   they   have    done    working 
Roger  is  putting  on  his  coat. 

Delia.  Yes,  see  brother  Arthur,  how  pleas' 
ed  they  all  seem  to  be  with  your  barrel  of  mo 
lasses  and  water.  They  like  it  as  well  as 
spirits ;  and  what  is  better,  they  will  not 
quarrel  with  their  wives  when  they  go  home, 

Caroline.  I  almost  envy  these  hard-working 
men.  They  are  so  hungry,  that  they  will 
enjoy  their  supper.  They  are  so  weary  that 
they  will  be  ready  to  sleep  sweetly. 

Capt.  A  little  hard  work  would  soon  cure 
you  of  your  envy,  Caroline.  Yet  there  is 
some  truth  in  what  you  say :  Solomon  says 
the  same  :  "  The  sleep  of  a  labouring  man  is 
sweet,  whether  he  eat  little  or  much  ;  but  the 
abundance  of  the  rich  will  not  suffer  him  to 
sleep."     Eccl.  v.  12. 

Mr.  W.  The  clouds  begin  to  gather  in  the 
east,   and  it  grows   dark.     We  will  return 
c2 


BO  HARVEST, 

While  we  are  on  our  way,  let  me  remind  you 
of  some  lessons  which  we  may  all  learn.  Can 
you  tell  me  what  kind  of  grain  this  is  ? 

Delia.  It  is  wheat. 

Mr.  TV.  What  kind  of  grain  was  sown  here 
last  autumn  ? 

Delia.  Wheat,  sir ;  of  course. 

Mr.  W.  How  is  that  ?  Do  people  always 
reap  the  same  kind  of  grain  that  they  sow  ? 

Delia.  Certainly,  sir. 

Mr.  TV.  What  should  this  teach  us  ? 

Delia.  It  should  teach  us  to  be  careful  to  pu*; 
(jood  things  into  our  minds,  that  we  may  reap 
Uie  benefit  of  them  in  time  to  come. 

Mr.  W.  Does  it  teach  you  any  thing  else  ? 

Edward.  It  teaches  us  that  we  must  be 
Caithful  and  cbedient,  and  then  we  shall  be  hap- 


A  DIALOGUE.  31 

py.  I  know  a  text  about  it.  "  Be  not  deceiv- 
ed ;  God  is  not  mocked ;  for  whatsoever  a  man 
soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap  ;  for  he  that 
soweth  to  his  flesh,  shall  of  his  flesh  reap  cor- 
ruption :  but  he  that  soweth  to  the  spirit,  shall 
of  the  spirit  reap  life  everlasting."  Gal.  vi.  7. 

Frank,  I  wish  to  reap  life  everlasting. 

Delia.  Then  you  must  take  care  what  you 
BOW.  I  am  afraid  I  have  been  sowing  nothing 
at  all  in  my  heart. 

Frank.  Perhaps  you  have  sowed  tares.  I 
remember  that  1  heard  a  minister  say  that  when 
we  are  idle,  we  are  letting  the  devil  sow  tares 
in  our  minds. 

Mr.  TV.  The  prophet  Hosea  spoke  to  the 
wicked  Israelites,  who  lived  more  than  twenty- 
five  hundred  years  ago,  saying,  "  Ye  have 
ploughed  wickedness,  ye  have  reaped  iniqui- 
ty:"  and  again,  "  Sow  to  yourselves  in  right 


32  HARVEST, 

eousness,  reap  in  mercy."  Hosea  x.  12,  13 
A.nd  he  also  spake  thus :  *'  For  they  have  sown 
the  wind,  and  they  shall  reap  the  whirlwind." 
IIos.  viii.  7.  All  this  teaches  us  that  we  must 
not  expect  ta  be  happy  in  this  world,  or  in  the 
world  to  come,  without  trying.  No  one  ex» 
pects  a  harvest  without  sowing  the  grain.  Sup- 
pose I  sow  the  seeds  of  cockle,  all  over  a 
field? 

Delia.  Then,  sir,  you  will  have  a  fine  crop 
of  cockles  for  your  pains. 

Mr,  TV,  Just  so.  Solomon  says,  "  He  that 
soweth  iniquity,  shall  reap  vanity."  Prov.  xxii. 
8.  Do  you  see  that  house  with  the  barrels 
by  it  ? 

Fi  ank.  Yes,  sir,  it  is  Mr.  Smith's  distillery 

Mi  W,  Mr.  Smith  is  selling  the  whiskey 
he  makes  to  thousands  of  people ;  little  think- 
ing, perhaps,  how  much  anxiety  and  suffering 


A  DIALOGUE.  33 

it  -w  ill  bring  upon  mothers  and  children,  when 
it  has  passed  through  the  hands  of  the  keep- 
ers of  stores,  grogshops,  and  taverns.  It  is  to 
be  feared,  that  he  "  plows  iniquity,  and  sows 
wickedness,  and  shall  reap  the  same."  Job 
iv.  8. 

Delia,  May  I  tell  another  thing  which  we 
learned  from  this  harvest  ? 

Mr,  W,  Certainly,  my  child. 

Bella,  I  think  we  may  learn  here  to  be 
charitable. 

Mr,  TV,  How  so  ? 

Delia,  Because,  if  we  give  to  the  poor,  we 
sow  seed  that  is  not  lost,  but  which  we  shall 
reap  again. 

Capt.  Where  do  you  find  that,  my  dear  ? 

Delia,  In  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  second 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians  :  "  He  which  sow- 
eth  sparingly,  shall  reap  also  sparingly  ;  and 


34  HARVEST, 

he  which  soweth  bountifully,  shall  reap  also 
bountifully." 

Capt.  What  has  that  verse  to  do  with  giving 
to  the  poor  ? 

Delia.  The  apostle  Paul  was  exhorting  the 
good  people  at  Corinth  to  be  liberal  to  the 
poor  saints  at  Jerusalem ;  and  he  said  these 
words  to  them,  to  persuade  them  to  give. 

Mr.  W.  And  you  may  observe  in  the  same 
chapter  that  the  apostle  says  that  God  is  able 
to  give  us  enough  to  be  charitable  with,  and 
teaches  us  that  charity  will  never  make  any 
man  poor.  2  Cor.  ix.  8,  9,  10. 

Caroline.  The  comparison  is  very  striking. 
The  sower  throws  his  grain  on  every  side 
A.n  ignorant  person  would  think  he  was  throw- 
ing it  away.  And  then  it  all  seems  to  rot  in 
the  ground.  Yet  it  springs  up,  and  grows,  and 
brings  forth  a  great  deal  more. 

Jirthur.  This  ought  to  make  us  charitable. 


A  DIALOGUE.  35 

The  money  which  we  give  to  support  the 
Sunday-schools,  or  to  help  the  widow  and  the 
orphan,  or  to  send  the  Bible  to  those  who 
have  not  got  it,  seems  almost  to  be  thrown 
away.  And  then  for  a  long  time  it  may  seem 
lo  be  lost,  like  the  seed  which  rots  in  the 
ground ;  yet  it  does  good  to  others,  and  then 
does  good  to  ourselves. 

Mr.  W.  They  that  sow  in  tears  sometimes 
reap  in  joy.  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weep- 
eth,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless 
come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him.  Often  we  undertake  duties  in  great 
sorrow,  and  yet  have  great  joy  in  the  end ;  and 
persons  who  are  afflicted,  if  they  believe  in 
God,  often  have  their  afflictions  changed  into 
gladness.     This  we  find  in  the  126th  Psalm. 

Caipt,  One  of  the  little  boys  said  just  now, 
that  the  fields,  which  were  full  of  shocks,  look- 
ed like  an  encampment.    I  think  that  these  on 


36  HARVEST, 

our  riffht-hand  look  like  a  field  of  battle.  Aftei 
the  reapers  have  cut  down  a  great  deal,  they 
bind  it  into  sheaves,  and  let  it  lie  for  a  while. 
These  sheaves  are  like  the  piles  of  dead  men 
after  a  battle. 

Arthur.  Yes,  sir ;  and  wniie  we  were  look 
ing  at  the  rakers,  I  could  not  help  thinking 
how  the  generations  of  men  are  cut  down,  one 
after  another,  just  as  one  harvest  is  cut  down 
after  another.  War,  and  famine,  and  pestilence 
cut  down  mankind  very  rapidly. 

Mr.  TV.  "  One  generation  passeth  away, 
and  another  generation  cometh."  Eccl.  i.  4. 
The  prophet  Jeremiah  must  have  had  the 
same  thought,  when  he  foretold  how  the  peo- 
ple of  Judea  should  be  cut  down  by  their  ene- 
mies. "  Speak,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  Even 
the  carcases  of  men  shall  fall  upon  the  open 
field,  and  as  the  handful  after  the  harvest-man, 
and  none  shall  gather  them."  Jer.  ix.  22. 


A  DIALOGFE.  37 

t^rthur.  Does  not  the  Lord  somewhere 
liken  his  judgment  to  reaping? 

Mr.  W.  Yes.  As  the  farmer  puts  in  his 
sickle  when  the  harvest  is  ripe,  so  t!.e  Lord 
threatens  to  destroy  the  wicked,  when  the  cup 
of  their  iniquity  has  become  full.  He  says 
by  his  prophet  Joel :  "  Put  ye  in  the  sickle, 
for  the  harvest  is  ripe"—"  for  the  wickedness 
is  great."  chap.  iii.  13.  It  is  an  awful  thought. 
Men  are  sometimes  left  till"  their  wickedness  is 
great,  and  they  are  ripe  to  be  cut  down.  If 
they  do  not  repent,  God  cuts  them  down,  and 
easts  them  into  unquenchable  fire. 

Capt..  But  do  not  the  good  die,  as  well  as 
the  bad  ?  All  kin  is  of  people  seem  to  be  cut 
down  together  somv>times. 

Mr    W.  Look  at  t\at  field  near  our  house. 

The  reapers  have  not  jet  touched  it.  You  see 

a  great  many  flowers  and  stems   among  the 

wheat.  These  are  useless  and  injurious.  They 
D 


38  HARVEST, 

are  like  what  are  called  in  the  Bible  tares 
Now,  I  do  not  go  through  Ihe  field  and  pull 
out  all  these  weeds  or  tai'es,  but  when  it  has 
all  been  cut  down,  we  can  easily  separate  the 
wheat,  and  throw  the  other  away.  Just  so  it 
is  with  the  wicked.  They  are  tares  :  they 
are  suffered  to  live.  Both  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked  are  reaped  down  together.  But 
the  righteous  are  taken  to  heaven,  and  the 
wicked  are  cast  into  hell.  Read  the  parable 
of  the  tares  and  the  wheat,  Mat.  xiii.  24 — 30. 
"  Another  parable  put  he  forth  unto  them,  say- 
ing. The  kihgdom  of  heaven  is  likened  unto 
a  man  which  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field  ;  but 
while  men  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed 
tares  among  the  wheat,  and  went  his  way.  But 
when  the  blade  was  sprung  up,  and  brought 
forth  fruit,  then  appeared  the  tares  also.  So 
the  servants  of  the  householder  came  and  said 
•unto  him,  Sir,  didst  not  thou  sow  good  seed 
m  thv  field  ?  from  whence  then  hath  it  tares ' 


A  DIALOGUE.  39 

He  said  unto  them,  An  enemy  hath  done  this% 
The  servants  said  unto  him,  Wilt  thou  then 
that  we  go  and  gather  them  up  ?  But  he  said 
nay  ;  lest  while  ye  gather  up  the  tares,  ye 
root  up  also  the  wheat  with  them.  Let  both 
grow  until  the  harvest ;  and  in  the  time  of 
harvest  I  will  say  to  the  reapers.  Gather  ye 
first  the  tares,  and  bind  them  in  bundles  to 
burn  them :  but  gather  the  wheat  into  my 
barn." 

Frank.  Will  you  explain  this  to  me,  if  you 
please  ? 

Mr.  W.  Our  blessed  Saviour  has  made  it 
plain,  Mat.  xiii.  37 — 43.  "  He  answered  and 
'  said  unto  them.  He  that  soweth  the  good  seed 
s  the  Son  of  man ;  the  field  is  the  world ;  the 
good  seed  are  the  children  of  the  kingdom ;  bu* 
the  tares  are  the  children  of  the  wicked  one ; 
the  enemy  that  sowed  them  is  the  devil ;  the 
harvest  i5  the  end  of  the  world ;  and  the  reapers 


40  HARVEST, 

are  the  angels.  As  therefore  the  tares  are 
gathered  and  burned  in  the  fire ;  so  shall  it  be 
in  the  end  of  this  world.  The  Son  of  man 
shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall 
gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things  that 
offend,  and  them  which  do  iniquity  ;  and  shall 
cast  them  into  a  furnace  of  fire,  there  shall 
be  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Then  shall 
the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the 
kingdom  of  their  Father.  Who  hath  ears  to 
hear,  let  him  hear." 

Caroline.  There  is  another  parable  of  the 
same  kind  in  the  gospel  of  Mark.  The  king- 
dom of  God  is  like  the  sowing  of  seed.  First 
comes  tiie  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full 
corn  in  ear.  It  grows  without  our  knowing 
how,  while  we  are  asleep.  When  the  grain  is 
ripe  and  yellow,  the  farmer  prepares  and  "  im- 
mediately he  putteth  in  the  sickle,  because  the 
tz-arvest  is  come."  Mark  iv.  29.    Our  superin 


A  DIALOGUE.  41 

lendant  explained  it  to  us  at  Sunday-school 
last  Sabbath. 

Mr.  W.  Did  you  ever  think  of  the  harvest 
of  the  world,  brother  ? 

Captain,  Not  so  much,  perhaps,  as  I  might 
have  done.  I  begin,  however,  to  feel  more 
interest  in  these  things. 

Mr,  W.  The  apostle  John  had  a  glorious 
vision  of  it ;  he  says  :  "  And  I  looked,  and 
behold,  a  white  cloud,  and  upon  the  cloud 
one  sat  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  having  on 
his  head  a  golden  crown,  and  in  his  hand 
a  sharp  sickle.  And  another  angel  came  out 
of  the  temple,  crying  with  a  loud  voice  to  him 
that  sat  on  the  cloud.  Thrust  in  the  sickle  and 
reap :  for  the  time  is  come  for  thee  to  reap ; 
for  the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe.  And  hf 
that  sat  on  the  cloud  thrust  in  his  sickle  on 
the  earth,  and  the  earth  was  reaped  '*     ReV 

xiv.  15,  16. 

d2 


42  HARVEST, 

Caroline.  Father,  the  book  of  the  Revela- 
tion is  so  dark,  that  I  cannot  understand  half 
of  it. 

Mr,  TV.  It  has  great  difficulties.  Yet  you 
know  what  is  said  at  the  beginning  of  it ; 
'"'•  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that 
hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  and  keep 
those  things  which  are  written  therein."  Rev. 
i.  3.  Though  much  of  it  is  hard  to  be  under- 
stood, yet  the  verses  I  have  just  now  repeated, 
plainly  refer  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

Capt.  It  is  a  thought  that  ought  to  make  me 
ir-^mble,  that  there  is  a  day  coming,  when  I 
must  be  judged !  The  tares  are  to  be  burned 
up,  and  I  have  reason  to  fear  that  I  am  not  of 
those  who  deserve  to  be  called  the  wheat.  I 
have  been  a  careless  man.  I  know  that  I  am 
a  sinner.  On  a  dark  night  at  sea,  I  have  often 
iKought  of  my  sins.   People  think  me  a  brave 


A  DIALOGUE.  43 

man,  but  1  am  afraid  to  die.     What  is  such 
a  one  as  I  am  to  do  ? 

Mr,  W,  My  dear  brother,  I  rejoice  to  hear 
you  ask  the  question.  It  is  the  most  import>' 
ant  of  all  questions.  If  you  were  to  gain  the 
whole  world,  you  might  still  lose  your  soul. 
A.nd  I  am  afraid  you  are  in  more  danger  than 
you  think. 

Capt.  God  forbid  !  I  know  I  am  in  danger. 
I  know  I  deserve  to  perish.  I  was  taught  to 
read  the  Bible  and  to  pray  by  our  dear  mother, 
but  I  have  been  full  of  the  world.  I  have  had 
my  share  of  blessings  too.  Few  have  been 
more  prospered.  Providence  has  guarded  me 
in  more  than  thirty  voyages,  and  I  am  well 
off,  as  to  earthly  goods. 

Mr.  IF.  Alas,  my  brother,  this  adds  to 
your  danger.  It  adds  immense  blackness  to 
your  guilt. 


44  HARVEST, 

Capt.  Guilt !  I  feel  ready  to  say  1  am  the 
chief  of  sinners.     What  can  I  do  ? 

The  little  company  had  now  returned  to 
the  farm-house.  The  children  were  much  af* 
fected  at  what  their  uncle  said.  Arthur  and 
Caroline  retired  into  the  parlour.  The  little 
ones  were  surprised  to  see  the  big  tears  roll 
down  the  cheeks  of  Captain  Wells.  Delia 
took  hold  of  his  hand,  and  while  she  looked 
up  into  his  face,  she  wept.  The  two  young- 
er boys  sat  upon  the  step  and  looked  very 
solemn*  At  last  little  Delia  could  no  longer 
contain  herself.  She  clasped  her  uncle's  hand 
and  said  to  him, 

O  dear,  uncle  Charles,  I  think  the  Lord  will 
forgive  you.  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners,  even  the  chief.  I  know 
he  will  forgive  you. 

Capt.  Ever  since  you  began  to  talk  aoout 
texts  relating  to  harvest,  I  have  been  thinking 


/ 
A  DIALOGUE.  45 

of  one  :  It  alarms  me  very  much.     I  heard  a 
sermon  preached  from  it  many  years  ago. 

Mr   W.  Pray  what  text  do  you  mean  ? 

Ca'pt.  I  mean  those  awful  words :  "  The 
harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and  we 
are  not  saved."  Jer.  viii.  20. 

Mr.  TV.  Those  words  are  often  applied  to 
the  case  of  impenitent  sinners.  Perhaps  it  is 
right  so  to  apply  them;  I  have  heard  our 
minister  say,  however,  that  he  was  convinced 
that  the  whole  chapter  relates  to  the  invasion 
of  Jerusalem  by  the  Chaldeans.  Yet  I  cannot 
deny  that  the  words  may  be  used  with  regard 
to  those  who  have  outlived  all  opportunity  of 
pjirdon.  At  the  end  of  the  world  many  will 
wish  they  had  never  been  born. 

C(q)t    Ah  !  the  harvest  is  past ! 

Mr,  TV,    Nay    my  dear  brother.     Christ 


46  HARVEST, 

still  lives.  He  is  still  a  gracious  Saviour 
He  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that 
come  unto  God  by  him.  If  you  will  turn,  yoo 
may  live.  As  good  Mr.  Baxter  says,  Deiivei 
up  yourselves  to  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  physi- 
cian of  your  soul,  that  he  may  pardon  you 
by  his  blood,  and  sanctify  you  by  his  Spirit. 
He  is  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life. 
There  is  no  coming  to  the  Father  but  by  him, 
nor  is  there  any  other  name  under  heaven 
whereby  you  can  be  saved. 

There  was  a  great  deal  more  said,  but  as 
this  dialogue  was  meant  to  be  about  harvest, 
we  may  as  well  stop  here.  I  think  I  can 
see  the  little  company  now,  as  they  looked 
that  evening  in  the  porch.  The  Captain  sat 
on  the  bench,  with  his  face  covered  by  his 
nand.  Mr.  Wells  stood  before  him,  earnestly 
talking  Edward  and  Frank  were  seated  on 
the  steps,  with  their  hats  off.  Delia  was  close 


A  DIALOGUE. 


47 


to  her  uncle,  looking  up  in  his  face  with  much 
affection.  And  now,  let  us  take  leave  of  this 
interesting  and  pious  family. 


THE   END. 


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